7/1 

, 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT, 


PRESIDENT  WILLIAM  iioKINLEY. 


Life  and  Distinguished  Services 


OF 


William  McKinley 

+/ 


Our  Martyr  President 


BY 

MURAT  HALSTEAD 

FAMOUS  JOURNALIST  AND  AUTHOR 

As  Prepared  by  Him  in  1896  and  1900  in  "I,ife  and  Distinguished  Services  of 
William  McKinley"  and  "Victorious  Republicanism" 


WITH  INTRODUCTION  BY 

SENATOR  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

AND  SPECIAL  CHAPTERS  BY 

GENERA^  C.  H.  GROSVENOR,   COLONEL  ALBERT   HALSTEAD,   AND 
THE  LATE  SECRETARY  OP  STATE,  JOHN  SHERMAN 


MEMORIAL  EDITION,  OCTOBER,  1901 

TOGETHER  WITH    AN    ACCOUNT   OF   THE    PRESIDENT'S   DEATH 

AND  BURIAL,  BY 

A.    J.    MUNSON 

AUTHOR  AND  EDITOR 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  MANY  HALF-TONE  VIEWS  AND  PORTRAITS 


MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION 


COPYRIGHT,  1901,  BY  H.  I,.  BARBER. 


PUBLISHERS'    INTRODUCTION. 

Our  country  has  been  singularly  fortunate  in 
having  had,  at  nearly  all  times,  some  one  states- 
man whose  honesty  and  wisdom  strengthened  him 
to  check  the  disturbing  elements  of  mere  poli- 
ticians, and  guide  them  in  channels  where  serious 
harm  could  not  be  done.  On  the  republic's  scroll 
of  fame  there  is  no  name  that  shines  with  greater 
lustre  because  of  these  qualities  than  that  of 
William  McKinley.  A  statesman  of  many  parts,1 
and  capable  in  all,  whose  ear  was  ever  attuned  to 
the  voice  of  the  people,  and  whose  deepest  solici- 
tude was  their  welfare,  he  was  an  ideal  leader  in 
whom  the  people  trusted,  and  in  whom  faith  was 
not  abused. 

The  career  of  William  McKinley  was  -exem- 
plary. His  personal  virtue,  his  purity  of  charac- 
ter, his  honesty  of  motive,  his  patriotic  purpose, 
his  loyalty  to  right,  his  love  of  justice,  his  spirit 
of  mercy,  endeared  him  to  the  people,  so  that 
when  he  was  struck  down  by  the  assassin  they 
felt  the  blow  as  if  it  had  been  struck  at  them* 
selves. 

The  record  of  such  a  life  and  such  a  career  de- 
serves a  permanent  form  as  is  given  by  this  vol- 


ume.  In  presenting  the  story  of  the  martyr 
president's  life,  the  publishers  have  sought  the 
aid  of  some  of  the  men  who  knew  him  best,  and 
who  have  generously  added  valuable  information 
to  the  great  storehouse  possessed  by  the  author. 

A  portion  of  this  volume  was  written  by  Mr. 
Halstead,  at  the  time  Mr.  McKinley  was  first  nom- 
inated for  the  presidency,  and  being  here  pre- 
sented as  then  written  it  shows  the  wonderful  ac- 
curacy of  the  author's  prophecy  at  that  time  and 
how  the  estimate  he  then  placed  on  Mr.  McKin- 
ley's  popularity  and  ability  has  been  verified  by 
later  events  and  the  action  of  the  people. 

No  writer  is  as  well  qualified  to  write  of  Mr. 
McKinley 's  life  and  work  as  is  Mr.  Halstead. 
Not  only  was  he  personally  and  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  McKinley  during  the  latter's 
public  career,  but  for  half  a  century  he  has  been 
engaged  in  making  through  the  press  a  public 
record  of  current  events.  During  half  of  that 
time  Mr.  McKinley  was  in  active  public  life  and 
his  advancement  and  leadership  were  observed  by 
the  author  with  the  keenest  interest.  It  is  hoped 
the  book  will  aid  in  commemorating  the  noble 
life  of  the  martyr  president. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

ON  the  day  before  Major  McKinley  was  nom- 
inated for  the  Presidency,  an  artist  distin- 
guished for  the  fetching  touch  of  his  pencil 
in  catching  and  fixing  likenesses  in  a  few  lines,  stood 
in  the  door  of  a  room  where  the  Major  was  seated, 
and  never  having  before  seen  the  famous  face,  was 
regarding  it  with  personal  and  professional  intensity, 
when  an  acquaintance  approached  him  and  said, 
"  Have  you  been  introduced  to  the  Governor  ?" 
"  No,"  said  the  artist ;  "  not  yet,  presently  gladly. 
Let  me  study  him  a  moment  unbeknown,  just 
as  he  is.  Why  there  is  no  picture  that  does  him 
justice.  I  am  right  glad  to  see  him  when  he  has  no 
idea  of  a  possible  sketch,  and  no  thought  of  himself. 
I  did  not  think  so,  but  he  is  a  great  man.  He  is 
splendid,  and  there  is  no  one  like  him  in  the  country. 
Why  did  any  one  ever  say  he  was  not  a  strong  man  ?" 
The  artist  perceived  at  a  glance  what  all  who  study 
Major  McKinley  find  out — that  he  is  a  strong  man 
and  a  great  one.  He  is  a  fortunate  combination  of 
excellent,  admirable,  and  lovable  traits  and  qualities. 
Alike  in  his  boyish  patriotism,  adventure  and  bravery 

in  war,  and  the  experiences  of  his   mature  years  io 

9 


10  AUTHOB'S   PEEFACE 

the  National  Congress,  and  the  straightforward  dis 
charge  of  executive  duty  as  Governor  of  a  great  State, 
there  has  been  the  heroic  simplicity,  unselfish  and 
constant,  that  has  attracted  the  attention  and  populai 
favor  of  ever-widening  circles  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
until  his  glory  has  become  a  precious  possession  of 
the  American  people,  and  inspired  with  it  they  did 
not  wait  for  the  stated  organizations  to  move,  before 
they  proclaimed  in  many  unmistakable  ways  that  he 
was    their   candidate  for   the   Presidency,  and  the 
National  Convention  of  the  Eepublican  party,  as  a 
representative  assembly,  ratified  the  public  will.   The 
life  of  McKinley   shows  the  stronger    and    more 
graceful  lines  with  greater  strength  and  grace  the 
better  it  is  known.    The  office  of  his  biographer  is 
one   of  grateful  satisfaction.      His  record  is  clear. 
There  is  no  line  for  love  to  lament  or  for  charity  to 
cover — no  chapter  for  the  advocate  to  blot  or  the 
diplomat  to  obscure.    This  is  one  of  the  rarest  of 
lives,  shining  in  every  part  with  the  inner  light  of  the 
truth  that  is  honor's  self;  and  the  radiance  of  un- 
clouded day  reveals  only  stainless  symmetry,  and  the 
harmony  of  open  motives  with  consummate  achieve- 
ment.    He  could  not  advance  to  the  elevation  he 
occupies  without  encountering  enmity  and  combat- 
ting imputation ;  but  no  charge  was  ever  contrived 
that  he  had  other  fault  than  that  of  friendliness  per- 
haps too  forgiving,  or  of  confidence  too  generous. 
He   is   a   man    who   will   go   on    growing    in    the 
affection  of  the    gentle  and  the  estimation    of   the 


AUTHOR'S    PKEFACE  11 

judicious.  The  potency  of  his  character  and  intel- 
lect and  the  kindliness  of  his  heart,  declare  in  his 
presence,  that  the  favorite  disparagements  in  which 
his  assailants  indulge,  the  conventional  accusations  of 
partisan  warfare,  are  but  fictions  that  are  frivolous. 
The  verdict  of  the  artist,  that  he  is  a  strong,  great 
man,  will  be  confirmed  by  all  the  people,  when  the 
performance  of  the  task  they  appoint  for  him  becomes 
history. 

MUKAT  HALSTEAD. 


CONTENTS. 


Publisher's  introduction , 1 

Author's  preface 9 

Introduction 18 

CHAPTER  I.  Personal  sketch  of  Hon.  William  McKinley  by  Hon. 
John  Sherman • 27 

CHAPTER  II.  Ancestry— Youth  In  the  army — Student  of  law — 
Prosecuting  attorney — Home  life 42 

CHAPTER  III.  McKinley  in  Congress— The  rapid  growth  of  his 
national  reputation — Became  the  champion  of  protection— 
First  in  a  National  Convention 63 

CHAPTER  IV.  First  experience  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency— Trying  times  and  personal  triumph  in  Chicago — Pros- 
perity under  the  McKinley  law— Gerrymandered  out  of  Con- 
gress— Governor  of  Ohio 77 

CHAPTER  V.  McKinley's  career  in  few  words— The  charm  of  his 
personal  character — His  habits  of  labor — Devotion  to  friends 
and  family 99 

CHAPTER  VI.  McKinley  not  a  man  of  one  idea — His  superior  dis- 
tinction as  a  Protectionist  has  caused  him  to  be  erroneously 
accused  of  exclusive  devotion  to  that  subject — The  great 
range  of  his  public  speeches  and  addresses— A  superb  tribute 
from  General  Grosvenor,  giving  a  list  of  subjects 121 


CONTENTS  13 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII.  McKinley  on.  Civic  Patriotism — Address  at 
Rochester,  N.  Y.— Studying  conditions  of  government — 
Public  opinion  the  basis— Zeal  after  election — The  people's 
business— Duty  of  business  men — Manufacturing  interests — 
Our  best  market — An  extraordinary  spectacle 134 

CHAPTER  VIII.  The  lessons  of  heroic  lives— McKinley  a  patriot 
— Oration — Piety  and  patriotism — Lessons  of  heroism — Influ- 
ences of  Chautauqua— A  fighting  patriot — The  grand  review 
— A  generous  eulogy — Illustrious  names 167 

CHAPTER  IX.  McKinley  and  money— Nominated  for  Governor 
— The  sound  money  battle — A  full  dollar — Not  willing  to 
chance  it — Two  yard-sticks — Struggle  against  inflation — A 
high  compliment — Opposed  to  unlimited  coinage — Treasury 
Report 178 

CHAPTER  X.  The  Money  Standard  questions  have  been  settled 
in  and  by  the  Republican  party — Silver  legislation  in  brief — 
How  the  country  was  saved  from  the  silver  standard — John 
Sherman  and  William  McKinley  have  marched  together— 
The  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith's  exposition  of  this  question 
— The  unexampled  supply  of  gold  is  solving  the  money  ques- 
tions for  the  people  and  abolishing  its  issue  194 

CHAPTER  XI.  William  McKinley  as  a  campaigner — Speaking  to 
fifteen  millions  of  people  -Making  one  thousand  speeches- 
Constitution  of  iron— Wondrous  vitality — Magnetic  power — 
Excellent  memory — Good  listener — Making  converts — 
Policy  of  Protection  the  hope  of  America 226 

CHAPTER  XII.  McKinley's  advice  to  boys — The  enterprising 
boy— Interviewing  Major  McKinley — Boy's  own  account  of 


14  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


it— Painting  up  the  town— Looks  like  Napoleon— Fatherly 
advice — An  important  question 241 

CHAPTER  XIII.  The  contrasted  conditions— Between  Repub- 
lican protection  and  prosperity  and  Democratic  meddling, 
disorganizing  industry  and  forcing  hard  times,  displayed  in 
speeches  by  McKinley  in  1892  and  in  1895— A  plea  in  Boston 
for  protection  and  prosperity • 253 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Some  views  on  public  questions— Humorous 
speeches— The  feeder  of  Great  Britain— A  leap  in  the  dark- 
Give  the  officials  scope— Importance  of  agriculture— Arbitra- 
tion—Respect  and  retrospect— Let  England  take  care  of  her- 
self   296 

CHAPTER  XV.    Liberty  and  Labor 313 

CHAPTER  XVI.  Mrs.  McKinley  at  home— The  great  Protection- 
ist's wife — Strong  despite  physical  weakness— Shares  all  her 
husband's  burdens — "Ever  happy  when  surrounded  by 
friends,  children  and  roses." 339 

CHAPTER  XVII.  McKinley  on  the  day  of  his  nomination— His 
good  nerve  and  thoughtful  courtesies — He  was  quiet  through 
the  storm  and  gave  the  good  news  with  kisses  to  his  wife  and 
mother 355 


CHAPTER  XVIII.    Major  McKinley  acknowledges  and  accepts  his 
nomination ,.  371 


CHAPTER  XIX.  Salient  extracts  from  Major  McKinley's  ad- 
dresses to  representative  delegations 407 

CHAPTER  XX.  McKinley's  inaugural  address— A  lofty  appeal  to 
all  patriotic  Americans  for  the  prompt  solution  of  the  great 
and  pressing  problems  of  the  National  Government 430 


CONTENTS.  15 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXI.  The  Philadelphia  convention  —  President 
McKinley  endorsed  by  his  unanimous  nomination  for  a  sec- 
ond term — Gorernor  Roosevelt  the  choice  for  Vice-President.  446 

CHAPTER  XXII.  Senator  Lodge's  speech— Permanent  Chairman 
of  the  Eepublican  Convention  outlines  the  position  of  Repub- 
lican party — A  scholarly  effort  and  a  concise  statement 456 

CHAPTER  XXIII.  Republican  Platform  of  1900— Document  of 
remarkable  scope  and  certainty— Defines  the  party's  position 
on  every  issue — Adopted  as  read 472 

CHAPTER  XXIV.  McKinley's  later  days — Elected  and  inaugu- 
rated President  a  second  time — Triumphal  tour  through  the 
South  and  the  West,  ended  by  Mrs.  McKinley's  illness 483 

CHAPTER  XXV.  President  McKinley's  assassination — Presi- 
dent's visit  to  the  Pan-American  Exposition — His  great 
speech — Shot  by  Anarchist  Leon  Czolgosz — A  week  in  the 
balance 487 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  Death  of  President  McKinley— Dies  peacefully 
at  2:15  A.  M.,  Saturday,  September  14 — Fond  farewell  of  hus- 
band and  wife— Last  words,  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee." 512 

CHAPTER  XXVII.  Burial  of  President  McKinley— Private 
Funeral  Services— Lying  in  state  at  Buffalo  and  Washington 
— Interment  at  Canton 518 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.    Trial  and  execution  of  assassin -. 533 

CHAPTER  XXIX.    Theodore  Roosevelt— Sketch  of  his  life 539 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Theodore  Roosevelt )  Frontispieces 

Wm.  McKmley         $ 

McKinley  at  Eighteen 21 

McKinley  When  Elected  to  Congress 22 

Hon.  Wm.  McKinley's  Residence 39 

Hon.  Wm.  McKinley  in  His  Study 40 

Mrs.  William  McKinley 57 

Mrs.  McKinley's  Room 58 

Hon  Wm.  McKinley's  Father 75 

Hon.  Win.  McKinley's  Mother 76 

Residence  of  the  Late  J.  A.  Stanton,  Mrs.  McKinley's  Father. . .     93 

First  M.  E.  Church  at  Canton 94 

The  White  House, Ill 

Admiral  George  Dewey 112 

Department  of  State 129 

Convention  Hall,  St.  Louis,  Mo 130 

Republican  Convention  Hall  at  Philadelphia 147 

Hon.  John  Sherman 148 

Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed. 165 

Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew 166 

Hon.  Matthew  Stanley  Quay 183 

Hon.  Stephen  B.  Elkins 184 

Hon.  Chag.  Emory  Smith 201 

Hon.  Levi  P.  Morton 202 

Hon.  Mark  Hanna ! 219 

Hon.  C.  H.  Grosvenor 220 

Hon.  Geo.  F.  Hoar 237 

16 


ILLUSTRATIONS  17 

PAGE 

Hon.  W.  B.  Allison 238 

Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison 255 

Hon.  R.  Proctor 256 

Late  Vice -President  Garret  A.  Hobart 273 

Senator  Win.  E.  Mason 274 

Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis 291 

Senator  Henry  C.  Lodge 292 

Andrew  Carnegie 309 

Hon.  Hazen  S.  Pingree 310 

Hon.  E.  O.  Wolcott 327 

Hon.  John  Wanamaker 328 

Hon.  Lyman  J.  Gage 345 

Hon.  John  D.  Long 346 

Gen.  Lew  Wallace 363 

Ex-Secretary  of  State  Day 364 

Hon.  William  P.  Frye 381 

S.  P.  Dole,  Ex-President  Hawaiian  Republic 382 

Murat  Halstead 399 

President  and  His  War  Cabinet 400 

Military  Heroes  of  Santiago 417 

Naval  Heroes  of  Santiago 418 


INTRODUCTION. 

MAJOR  WILLIAM  McKINLEY  requires 
no  introduction  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  His  name  and  fame  are 
in  every  American  home.  It  is  well  that  the  details 
of  a  career  so  full  of  inspiration  should  be  put  jn 
permanent  form,  and  this  has  been  admirably  done 
in  this  volume  by  the  accomplished  author.  Public 
men  fade  rapidly  from  even  contemporary  memory. 
Only  those  who  are  so  identified  with  a  great  cause 
or  principle,  that  the  man  and  the  measure  are  one 
in  the  popular  mind,  can  hope  to  survive  the  tread 
of  the  ever  advancing  column  of  the  ambitious  and 
successful.  This  rare  distinction  belonged  fifty 
years  ago  to  Henry  Clay  and  now  to  Governor 
McKinley.  Protection  for  American  industries  and 
McKinley  are  synonymous  terms. 

Heroes  and  statesmen  are  admired  and  loved  for 
some  striking  characteristic.     General  Jackson  has 

18 


19 

beeu  the  idol  of  a  great  partyTor  more  than  half  8 
century,  not  for  the  ideas  he  gave  the  organization, 
but  because  he  was  "  Old  Hickory."  "  I  will  fight 
it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer,"  expressed 
the  indomitable  and  resistless  purpose  of  Grant. 
The  immortal  speech  at  Gettysburg  condensed  the 
patriotism  and  pathos  of  Lincoln.  The  triumph  of 
McKinley  over  obstacles  in  a  career  which  would 
have  been  insurmountable  for  a  weaker  man  has 
been  due  to  his  absolute  sincerity  and  loyalty.  His 
clear  brain  and  warm  heart  are  always  in  accord. 
His  sentiment  is  subordinate  to  his  judgment,  but 
when  his  mind  is  made  up  his  emotional  nature  gives 
a  contagious  enthusiasm  to  his  efforts  which  secures 
devoted  followers  and  lends  a  living  interest  to  the 
discussion  of  the  driest  subjects. 

A  boy  of  eighteen,  teaching  school  to  earn  money 
for  a  college  education  and  deeply  imbued  with  the 
intense  anti-slavery  and  union  sentiment  of  Ohio,  he 
followed  the  flag  to  the  front  when  Lincoln  called 
for  volunteers.  As  soon  as  he  was  satisfied  that  lib- 
erty and  the  Republic  could  only  be  saved  by  fight- 
ing for  them,  his  life  belonged  to  his  country.  It  is 
always  difficult  to  rise  from  the  ranks,  and  for  a 
beardless  boy  well-nigh  impossible.  But  in  the 
eighteen  months  during  which  he  carried  a  musket 
he  was  attracting  the  attention  of  the  officers  of  his 
regiment — and  such  a  regiment !  Its  Colonel,  Gen- 
eral Rosecrans,  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the 
Armies  of  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland.  Its 


20  INTRODUCTION 

Lieutenant  -  Colonel,  Stanley  Matthews,  became 
United  States  Senator  and  one  of  the  Judges  of  that 
august  tribunal,  the  Supreme  Court.  Its  Major, 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  was  elected  Governor  of  Ohio 
and  President  of  the  United  States,  and  soon  the 
successor  of  Hayes  in  the  Majority  of  the  gallant 
Twenty-third  will  also  be  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
this  Republic.  Our  army  was  retreating  down  the 
Valley  of  Virginia ;  brigade  after  brigade  of  ex- 
hausted troops  passed  a  battery  of  four  guns  which 
had  been  abandoned  in  the  road.  "  The  boys  will 
haul  them,"  said  McKinley,  and  responding  to  his 
call  and  example  his  comrades  did.  He  was  in  a  safe 
place  as  Commissary  Sergeant,  two  miles  from  the  field 
at  the  Battle  of  Antietam.  His  business  was  to 
guard  the  rations  until  called  for.  Soldiers  fight  far 
better  on  full  than  empty  stomachs,  and  so  thought 
this  fearless  and  practical  Commissary  Sergeant,  and 
as  evening  fell  two  mule  wagons  loaded  with  food 
and  hot  coffee  were  going,  under  heavy  fire  from  the 
enemy,  straight  for  the  boys  at  the  front,  and  the 
driver  of  the  first  wagon,  and  the  one  which  got 
through,  was  Sergeant  McKinley.  He  was  the  staff 
officer  selected  to  carry  an  order  to  a  regiment  in  a 
perilous  position  to  join  the  main  column.  It  was 
believed  that  no  one  could  ride  across  the  enemy's 
front  and  reach  his  destination  alive.  The  gallant 
Major  never  hesitated,  but  quietly  and  quickly 
obeyed  orders  and  saved  the  regiment.  These  battle 
incidents,  selected  from  many,  indicate  and  reveal  llu* 


McKINLEY   AT   EIGHTEEN. 


WILLIAM   McKINLEY   WHEN   ELECTED   TO    CONGRESS. 


23 

man,  never  fool-hardy  nor  boastful  nor  rash,  but 
with  intuitive  genius  grasping  the  situation  and  with 
serene  confidence  meeting  wisely  its  requirements, 
regardless  of  consequences  or  perils  to  himself. 

Governor  McKinley  was  born  and  has  passed  his 
life  in  that  manufacturing  district  of  his  native 
State  which  is  a  hive  of  varied  industries.  From 
early  youth  he  has  witnessed  and  felt  the  seasons 
of  employment  and  idleness  which  come  to  the  work- 
ers in  mills  and  factories.  He  had  participated  with 
his  play-fellows  and  companions  in  the  joyous  con- 
ditions which  attend  the  humming  spindles,  the 
whirl  of  machinery,  and  the  blaze  of  the  furnaces, 
and  his  heart  had  been  wrung  by  association  with 
strong  men  suffering  and  seeking  only  work,  and 
their  sons  no  longer  able  to  be  at  the  district  school. 
He  pondered  deeply  over  the  questions  suggested  by 
such  occurrences,  and  eagerly  sought  remedies  for 
the  fluctuations  which  involved  capital  and  labor  and 
the  employers  and  employes  in  common  ruin.  With 
Washington  and  Hamilton,  with  Webster  and  Clay, 
he  came,  not  alone,  as  they  did,  by  the  cold  deduc- 
tions of  reason,  but  also  by  observation  and  experi- 
ence, to  the  conclusion  that  the  solution  of  our  in- 
dustrial problems  and  the  salvation  of  our  productive 
industries  could  only  be  had  by  the  policy  of  a  Pro- 
tective Tariff.  As  Union  and  Liberty  had  been  the 
inspiration  of  his  courage  and  sacrifices  as  a  soldier, 
so  now  America  for  Americans  became  the  active 
priucijr J  '  his  efforts  as  a  citizen.  A  century  of 


jj4  INTRODUCTION 

discussion  had  not  enlivened  tariff  debates.  They 
were  the  preserves  of  the  "  dry-as-dust "  speaker  and 
the  dread  of  the  orator.  This  question  has  been  for 
a  century  the  foremost  one  in  platforms  and  legisla- 
tion, but  worn  threadbare  in  debate.  When  Con- 
gressman McKinley  appeared  upon  the  floor  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  to  voice  the  aspirations  of 
American  labor  for  work  and  wages  it  was  like  Paul 
preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  The  best  brains  of  the 
country  had  been  advocating  the  principle,  but  now 
brain  and  heart  were  united  in  the  cause.  Had 
McKinley  done  nothing  else  his  popular  discussions 
of  tariff  questions  in  Congress,  on  the  stump,  and 
before  college  commencements  would  have  earned  for 
him  the  recognition  and  gratitude  of  his  country- 
men. His  audiences  at  once  learn  that  they  are 
not  listening  to  a  declaimer  or  a  commentator  upon 
academic  theories,  but  they  are  roused  to  wild  enthu- 
siasm by  the  passion  and  earnestness,  the  convictions 
and  pleadings  of  a  sincere  man,  who  both  knows  and 
feels  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  the  principles  he 
advocates.  No  man  could  talk  so  ably,  so  often,  and 
so  entertainingly  upon  this  well-worn  theme  unless 
he  was  broad-minded  and  versatile. 

The  fame  of  Governor  McKinley  as  the  most  cap- 
tivating orator  on  protection  issues  of  this  generation 
has  obscured  his  merits  as  a  speaker  of  eminence 
and  power  upon  a  wide  range  of  topics.  Whether 
the  theme  is  patriotic  or  educational,  religious  or 
secular,  a  discriminating  eulogy  upon  a  departed 


IXTBODUCTION  25 

statesman  or  an  address  before  farmers  or  journalists, 
we  find  in  the  speeches  of  Mr.  McKinley  the  same 
thoughtful,  courageous,  sincere,  and  lucid  thinker. 

The  sweetest  and  tenderest  word  in  our  language 
is  home.  The  source  and  centre  of  all  the  saving 
and  helpful  influences  which  form  American  char- 
acter and  determine  American  action  come  from  the 
family  and  fireside.  No  man  could  hope  to  repre- 
sent our  people  who  failed  to  embody  in  his  life  and 
in  popular  appreciation  this  ideal.  Our  hearts  and 
sympathies  are  with  lovers,  young  or  old,  who  are 
pure  and  true.  The  Major  is  both  a  young  and  old 
lover,  and  always  a  lover.  The  young  lady,  educated, 
accomplished,"  and  beautiful,  seeking  to  do  something 
useful  in  her  father's  bank,  saw  the  handsome,  frank 
young  soldier — a  lawyer  now — pass  day  by  day,  and 
he  in  turn  noticed  this  girl,  so  different  from  her 
companions  in  the  earnest  purposes  of  her  life. 
Heaven  blessed  the  union,  and  in  the  early,  happy 
days  two  children  came  to  brighten  their  home. 
First  one  and  then  the  other  was  called,  and  their 
loss  broke  the  mother's  health.  The  cares  of  public 
life,  the  anxieties  of  political  fortunes,  and  the 
triumphs  of  a  brilliant  career  have  never  for  one 
moment  distracted  or  disturbed  the  tender  solicitude 
and  affectionate  devotion  of  this  best  of  husbands  to 
the  most  self-sacrificing,  helpful,  and  appreciative  of 
wives.  They  are  a  beautiful  example  of  wedded 
confidence,  and  their  domestic  life  a  splendid  type  of 
the  American  home. 


26  I1VTEODUCTION 

Our  people  have  always  been  fortunate  in  the  can- 
didates presented  for  their  suffrages  for  that  highest 
position  on  earth — the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  They  never  have  had  a  better  example  of 
the  results  of  American  liberty  and  opportunity  than 
this  brilliant  and  faithful  soldier,  this  industrious  and 
honest  citizen,  this  wise  and  practical  statesman,  this 
sincere  and  loyal  husband  and  friend — William 
McKinley. 


/ 


CHAPTER  I. 

PEBSONAL  SKETCH   OF   HON.  WILLIAM   MCKINLEY, 
BY   HON.  JOHN   SHEKMAN. 

BY  request  I  write  this  sketch  of  the  life  and 
traits  of  Hon.  William  McKinley,  nominee 
of  the  Republican  party  for  the  high  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  born  at  Niles,  Ohio,  January  29th,  1843, 
and  is,  therefore,  just  past  fifty-three  years  of  age.  He 
is  now  in  the  prime  of  vigorous  manhood,  and  his 
powers  of  endurance  are  not  excelled  by  any  Ameri- 
can of  his  age.  The  best  evidence  of  this  is  the 
rfiany  campaigns  which  he  has  made  during  his  public 
life  in  behalf  of  the  Republican  party.  He  has 
proved  his  ability  and  endurance  by  the  number 
and  perfection  of  the  speeches  which  he  has 
delivered. 

His  education,  for  reasons  that  could  not  be  sur- 
mounted, was  limited  to  the  public  schools  of  Ohio, 
and  to  a  brief  academic  course  in  Allegheny  College. 
He  taught  school  in  the  country  and  accumulated  the 
small  means  necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  that 
iort  of  education.  This  is  the  kind  of  schooling  thaf 

27 


28 

has  produced  many  of  the  most  eminent  Americans 
in  public  and  private  life. 

McKinley  entered  the  Union  Army  in  June,  1861, 
enlisting  in  the  Twenty-Third  Ohio  Infantry,  when 
a  little  more  than  seventeen  years  of  age.  This  was 
a  noted  regiment.  Among  its  earlier  field  officers 
may  be  mentioned  General  "W.  S.  Kosecrans,  Gen- 
eral Scammon,  General  Stanley  Matthews,  General 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  General  Comley,  and  many 
other  conspicuous  men.  He  served  during  the  entire 
war,  rising  from  the  position  of  a  private  to  the  rank 
of  major.  He  was  a  soldier  on  the  front  line,  served 
in  battles,  marches,  bivouacs  and  campaigns,  and 
received  the  official  commendation  of  his  superior 
officers  on  very  many  occasions.  He  returned  to 
Ohio  with  a  record  of  which  any  young  man  might 
well  be  proud,  and  to  which  the  old  soldiers  of  the 
country  point  with  enthusiasm  now  that  he  is 
honored  by  a  presidential  nomination.  There  are 
in  the  United  States  at  this  time  more  than  a  million 
soldiers  of  the  late  war  who  served  on  the  Union 
side,  still  living  and  voting,  and  they  have  sons  and 
their  relatives,  all  of  whom,  taken  in  the  aggregate, 
become  a  power  in  a  presidential  election.  His 
military  career,  while  he  was  not  in  high  command, 
is  full  of  heroic  incidents,  which  are  proven  not  only 
by  contemporaneous  publications  in  the  newspapers, 
but  by  official  reports  of  his  superior  officers.  He 
was  not  only  a  gallant  soldier,  full  of  endurance  and 
personal  energy,  but  he  was  the  calm,  judicious  staff 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  29 

officer,  who  won  the  commendations  of  his  superiors 
by  the  exhibition  of  good  judgment  and  wise  adminis- 
trative capacity. 

Returning  from  the  war  he  found  it  necessary  to 
choose  his  employment  for  life,  and  without  further 
schooling  he  entered  earnestly  upon  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  Judge  Poland,  and  was  a  careful, 
faithful,  industrious,  and  competent  student.  He 
entered  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  high  honors.  He  then  began 
the  practice  of  law  to  Canton  with  the  same  enthu- 
siasm and  devotion  to  duty  which  he  had  always 
manifested.  As  a  practitioner  at  the  bar  he  at  once 
exhibited  superior  qualities,  careful,  studious,  and 
faithful.  He  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  his 
county,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his  learning, 
fidelity,  and  efficiency  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
to  the  public  and  his  clients. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  45th  Congress, 
and  served  in  that  Congress  and  the  46th,  47th, 
48th,  49th,  and  was  certified  as  elected  to  the  50th, 
but  was  excluded  by  a  Democratic  majority  in  a  con- 
test, but  was  returned  to  the  51st,  making  his  con  - 
gressional  career  nearly  fourteen  years.  As  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  he  was  attentive,  industrious,  and 
untiring,  working  his  way  gradually  until  he  reached 
the  post  of  leader  of  the  Republican  majority  of  the 
51st  Congress.  He  did  not  attain  this  position  by 
accident  or  by  any  fortuitous  circumstance,  but  by 
constant  attention  to  his  duties  and  a  careful  study  of 


30  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

the  public  measures  of  importance.  He  was  a  can- 
didate for  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  51st  Congress.  Mr.  Reed,  the  successful  can- 
didate, appointed  him  as  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee,  and  he  entered  upon  the  duties 
incident  to  that  position  with  great  energy  and  intel- 
ligence. There  was  a  necessity  and  a  well-defined 
public  demand  for  tariff  legislation  in  that  Congress. 
The  Republican  party  had  come  into  power  by  the 
election  of  Mr.  Harrison,  with  the  understanding  and 
pledge  that  tariff  revision  should  be  accomplished  at 
once.  The  tariff  laws  of  1883  required  amendment 
and  improvement  on  account  of  the  lapse  of  time  and 
change  of  circumstances.  In  1890  it  was  decided  to 
present  a  complete  revision  of  the  tariff,  and  to  this 
work  McKinley  devoted  himself  with  untiring  indus- 
try. He  had  upon  that  committee  many  competent 
assistants,  but  the  chief  burdens  necessarily  fell  upon 
the  chairman.  Mr.  Speaker  Reed  was  in  hearty 
sympathy  and  earnest  co-operation,  and  the  House 
of  Representatives,  on  the  21st  day  of  May,  1890, 
passed  the  bill  known  as  the  McKinley  Tariff  Bill. 
Any  one  turning  to  the  great  debate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  pending  the  passage  of  that  measure 
in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  will  appreciate  the 
great  scope  of  McKinley 's  knowledge  of  the  subject- 
matter  of  that  enactment. 

It  has  never  been  claimed  by  McKinley's  friends 
that  he  was  the  sole  author  of  the  McKinley  bill. 
Not  only  did  he  have  able  supporters  and  assistants, 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  31 

but  he  yielded  to  them  under  all  circumstances  oppor- 
tunities for  demonstrating  their  leadership  upon  sub- 
jects connected  with  the  bill,  and  over  and  over  again 
expressed  in  public  and  in  private  his  great  admira- 
tion for  the  assistance  contributed  by  his  colleagues 
in  the  Committee.  But  it  is  fair  to  say  that  Mc- 
Kinley  mastered  the  whole  subject  in  Congress  in 
detail.  He  has  made  the  subject  of  protective  tariff 
a  life  study.  Born  and  reared  within  the  sounds  of 
the  rolling  mill,  and  beneath  the  smoke  and  flame 
of  furnaces,  and  with  the  full  knowledge  of  the  calls 
of  labor  and  the  necessities  of  capital,  he  has  grown 
up  from  childhood  a  student  of  the  economic  ques- 
tions involved  in  American  legislation,  and  so  he 
brought  to  this  task  in  the  51st  Congress  remarkable 
knowledge  of  details  and  thorough  equipment  for  the 
great  work  devolved  upon  him.  McKinley  is  a  man 
of  conspicuous  modesty.  He  never  claimed  the  ex- 
clusive authorship  of  this  measure,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  he  contributed  more  than  any  one  else 
to  the  policy  of  combining  in  a  tariff  law  ample  pro- 
vision for  sufficient  revenue  to  meet  the  expenditures 
of  the  Government,  and  at  the  same  time  to  protect 
and  foster  impartially  all  domestic  labor  and  produc- 
tion from  undue  competition  with  the  poorly  paid 
labor  of  foreign  nations. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  the  McKinley  Act  failed 
in  providing  sufficient  revenue  to  support  the  Gov- 
ernment. This  is  not  true,  as  it  did  furnish  revenue 
to  meet  expenditures,  but  it  did  not  provide  a  surplus 


32  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

equal  to  the  sinking  fund  for  the  reduction  of  the 
public  debt.  This  was  not  the  fault  of  McKinley 
or  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  of  the 
Senate,  which  insisted  upon  reciprocity  clauses 
which  largely  reduced  the  revenue  provided  by 
that  Act. 

It  was  the  misfortune  of  the  McKinley  Act  that  it 
took  effect  at  the  opening  of  a  Presidential  contest, 
and  when  "Labor  Troubles"  excited  the  public 
mind.  The  election  of  1892  fell  with  demoralizing 
and  almost  crushing  weight  upon  the  Republican 
party  of  the  country.  The  law  of  1890  was  every- 
where, by  Republicans  and  Democrats,  denominated 
the  McKiuley  Law,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean  the 
common  people  learned  to  so  denominate  it.  At  that 
time  Major  McKinley  not  only  did  not  seek  to  evade 
the  responsibility  of  his  position,  but  frankly  and 
openly  admitted  it,  and  he  counselled  courage  and 
fortitude,  and  gave  assurance  of  his  strong  faith  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Republican  party  upon 
the  very  principles  which  then  seemed  .to  be  re- 
pudiated by  the  people. 

Addressing  himself  to  an  audience  of  discouraged 
Republicans  in  February,  1893,  he  said : 

:<The  Republican  party  values  its  principles  no 
less  in  defeat  than  in  victory.  It  holds  to  them 
after  a  reverse  as  before,  because  it  believes  in  them, 
and,  believing  in  them,  is  ready  to  battle  for  them. 
They  are  not  espoused  for  mere  policy,  nor  to  serve 
in  a  single  contest.  They  are  set  deep  and  strong 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  33 

in  the  hearts  of  the  party,  and  are  interwoven  with 
its  struggle,  its  life,  and  its  history.  Without  dis- 
couragement our  great  party  reaffirms  its  allegiance 
to  Republican  doctrine,  and  with  unshaken  confi- 
dence seeks  again  the  public  judgment  through  pub- 
lic discussion.  The  defeat  of  1892  has  not  made 
Republican  principles  less  true  nor  our  faith  in  their 
ultimate  triumph  less  firm.  The  party  accepts  with 
true  American  spirit  the  popular  verdict,  and  chal- 
lenging the  interpretation  put  upon  it  by  political 
opponents,  takes  an  appeal  to  the  people,  whose 
court  is  always  open,  whose  right  of  review  is  never 
questioned. 

"  The  Republican  party,  which  made  its  first  appear- 
ance in  a  national  contest  in  1856,  has  lost  the  Presi- 
dency but  three  times  in  thirty-six  years,  and  only 
twice  since  1860.  It  has  carried  seven  Presidential 
elections  out  of  ten  since  its  organization.  It  has 
more  than  once  witnessed  an  apparent  condemna- 
tion of  Republican  policy  swiftly  and  conclusively 
reversed  by  a  subsequent  and  better  considered  popu- 
lar verdict.  When  defeat  has  come  it  has  usually 
followed  some  measure  of  public  law  or  policy  where 
sufficient  time  has  not  elapsed  to  demonstrate  its 
wisdom  and  expediency,  and  where  the  opposing 
party,  by  reason  thereof,  enjoyed  the  widest  range  of 
popular  prejudice  and  exaggerated  statements  and 
misrepresentation." 

This  was  the  language  of  a  bold  leader  of  public 
opinion.  There  was  no  trimming,  no  hiding  fron> 


34  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

responsibility,  no  shirking  from  the  great  question 
of  protection. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  Act  of  1890  the 
country  rang  with  the  designation  "  McKinley  Law  " 
as  a  term  of  reproach.  The  man  who  had  given  his 
name  to  that  Act  when  it  was  denounced,  boldly  pro- 
claimed his  responsibility  for  it.  When  the  tide 
turned  in  its  favor  he  heartily  acknowledged  the 
aid  of  his  colleagues. 

My  familiar  association  as  a  Senator  from  Ohio 
with  McKinley  during  his  service  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  enables  me  to  say  that  he  won 
friends  from  all  parties  by  uniform  courtesy  and 
fairness,  unyielding  in  sustaining  the  position  of  his 
party  upon  every  question  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 
His  leadership  was,  nevertheless,  not  offensive  or 
aggressive,  and  while  he  carried  his  points,  he  was 
always  courteous  to  his  opponents,  impersonal  in 
debate,  and  always  ready  to  concede  honest  motives 
to  his  opponents.  At  the  close  of  the  51st  Congress, 
and  when  his  services  as  a  Congressman  ended, 
he  retired  without  leaving  behind  him  a  single 
enemy,  and  yet  he  had  been  unswerving  in  party 
fealty  and  uncompromising  upon  every  question 
of  principle.  His  name  became  linked  with  the 
great  measure  of  that  Congress  by  the  common 
voice  of  the  people  of  the  whole  country,  and  by  the 
world  at  large. 

He,  shortly  after  his  service  in  Congress,  entered 
upon  the  campaign  for  Governor  of  Ohio.  He  was 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  35 

nominated  by  acclamation  in  1891.  The  State  had 
been  carried  in  1890  by  the  Republicans  by  a  very 
close  majority,  and  the  drift  in  the  country  was 
against  the  success  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
discussion  by  Major  McKinley  in  Ohio  of  the  tariff 
and  currency  questions  was  one  of  the  most  thorough 
and  instructive  of  all  the  debates  in  that  State.  It 
was  a  counterpart,  in  large  measure,  of  that  of  1875, 
when,  after  a  series  of  defeats  throughout  the  country, 
growing  out  of  the  use  of  irredeemable  paper  money, 
President  Hayes,  then  a  candidate  for  Governor  of 
Ohio,  boldly  advocated  the  resumption  of  specie  pay- 
ments, and  was  elected  on  that  issue.  It  was  a  cam- 
paign where  principles  won  against  prejudices.  So, 
in  the  campaign  of  1891,  Governor  McKiuley,  dis- 
regarding threatened  disasters,  adhered  without  com- 
promise to  the  platform  of  principles  involved  in  the 
tariff  legislation  of  Congress.  He  neither  apologized 
nor  modified  his  position,  and  his  election  by  upwards 
of  twenty  thousand  majority  in  that  year  was  the 
significant  result. 

The  office  of  Governor  of  Ohio  was  to  McKinley  a 
new  field  of  action.  It  was  the  first  executive  office 
he  had  ever  held.  It  was  his  first  experience  in 
administrative  duty.  His  success  in  that  department 
of  the  public  service  was  as  significant  and  con- 
spicuous as  his  experience  in  the  legislative  depart- 
ment of  the  general  government  had  been. 

He  was  Governor  during  a  period  involving  excite- 
ment and  intense  commotion  in  Ohio — the  strikes 


36  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

among  the  coal-miners,  the  organizing  of  bands  of 
tramps,  and  the  passage  across  the  State  of  great 
bodies  of  turbulent  people.  All  these  things  tended 
to  precipitate  commotion  and  disorder.  His  admin- 
istration as  a  Governor  was  without  reproach  or  just 
criticism.  He  was  faithful  to  every  duty,  firm, 
unyielding,  and  defiant  in  the  administration  of  the 
law.  Whe»  necessary  he  called  out  the  troops  and 
crushed  disorder  with  an  iron  hand,  but  before  doing 
so  he  resorted  to  every  proper  expedient  to  maintain 
order  and  the  law.  He  was  diplomatic,  careful,  per- 
suasive, and  generally  restored  order  and  good 
government. 

The  great  depression  of  1894-5  brought  a  condition 
of  suffering  to  many  of  the  leading  industries  of  the 
State.  Charity  was  appealed  to  by  the  Governor 
and  aid  rendered  promptly  and  efficiently.  In 
January,  1896,  he  retired  from  the  office  of  Governor 
at  the  end  of  his  second  term  with  the  hearty  good- 
will of  all-  the  people  of  the  State.  He  had  yielded 
to  no  unworthy  influence,  made  duty,  honor,  integ- 
rity, and  fidelity  the  criterion  of  his  administration, 
and  he  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  private 
citizens  of  the  State  in  the  town  from  which  he  had 
first  entered  Congress. 

It  has  been  said  that  Governor  McKinley'g  knowl- 
edge is  limited  to  a  single  subject,  and  that  his 
speeches  have  been  confined  to  the  tariff  question. 
This  is  a  great  mistake.  His  studies  and  speeches 
embraced  a  great  variety  of  subjects  and  extended  to 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  37 

nearly  every  measure  of  importance  discussed  while 
lie  was  in  Congress,  and  his  addresses  to  the  people, 
a  long  list  of  which  has  been  published,  cover  every 
variety  of  subjects  appropriate  to  the  time  and  place 
when  they  were  delivered. 

On  the  vital  question  of  the  currency  he  has  held 
the  position  of  the  Republican  party.  When  under 
the  stress  of  war  the  United  States  was  compelled  to 
use  irredeemable  money,  he  acquiesced  in  conditions 
he  could  not  change,  but  every  step  taken  to  advance 
the  credit  and  value  of  United  States  notes  while 
he  has  been  in  public  life  he  has  supported.  He 
supported  the  Act  for  the  resumption  of  specie  pay- 
ments and  the  successful  accomplishment  of  that 
measure.  I  know  of  no  act  or  vote  or  speech  of  his 
inconsistent  with  this  position.  He  advocates  the 
use  of  both  gold  and  silver  coins  as  money  to  the 
extent  and  upon  the  condition  that  they  can  be 
maintained  at  par  with  each  other.  This  can  only 
be  done  by  purchasing  as  needed  the  cheaper  metal 
at  market  value  and  coining  it  at  the  legal  rate  of  16 
of  silver  to  1  of  gold,  and  receiving  it  in  payment  of 
public  dues.  Gold  is  now  the  standard  of  value. 
With  free  coinage  of  silver  that  metal  will  be  the 
standard  of  value  and  gold  will  be  demonetized. 
Governor  McKinley  is  opposed  to  the  free  coinage  of 
silver,  and  has  so  repeatedly  declared  in  his  speeches. 
McKinley  is  in  favor  of  honest  money. 

In  his  last  Gubernatorial  canvass  in  Ohio  Gover- 
nor McKinley  made  this  response  to  the  declaration 


38  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

of  his  opponent,  ex-Governor  Campbell,  that  he  was 
willing  to  " chance  it"  on  silver : 

"  My  worthy  opponent  should  not  '  chance '  any- 
thing with  a  question  of  such  vital  and  absorbing  in- 
terest as  the  money  of  the  people.  The  money  of 
America  must  be  equal  to  the  best  money  of  the 
world.  Unlike  my  opponent,  I  will  not  ask  you  to 
take  any  chances  on  this  question  ;  I  will  clearly  and 
unequivocally  say  to  you  that  my  choice  and  influ- 
ence are  in  favor  of  the  best  money  that  the  ingenuity 
of  man  has  devised.  The  people  are  not  prepared  to 
indulge  in  the  speculation  of  free  and  unlimited 
coinage.  I 

"  The  Republican  party  stands  now,  as  ever,  for 
honest  money,  and  a  chance  to  earn  it  by  honest  toil. 
It  stands  for  a  currency  of  gold,  silver,  and  paper 
that  shall  be  as  sound  as  the  government  and  as  un- 
tarnished as  its  honor.  I  would  as  soon  think  of 
lowering  the  flag  of  our  country  as  to  contemplate 
with  patience,  or  without  protest,  any  attempt  to  de- 
grade or  corrupt  the  medium  of  exchanges  among 
our  people.  The  Republican  party  can  be  relied 
upon  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  to  supply  our 
country  with  the  best  money  ever  known — gold,  silver, 
and  paper — good  the  world  over." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  recent  Ohio  platform  does 
not  declare  against  free  coinage  of  silver  and  for 
honest  money.  This  is  not  a  fair  construction  of 
that  declaration.  The  people  of  Ohio  are  for  that 
money  which  has  the  highest  purchasing  power,  that 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  41 

which  yields  to  labor  the  highest  wages  to  be  paid  in 
the  best  money,  and  to  domestic  productions  the 
highest  price  in  the  best  money,  and  that  is  gold  coin 
or  its  equivalent  in  other  money  of  equal  purchasing 
power.  This,  I  believe,  is  also  the  opinion  of  Gov- 
ernor McKinley,  and  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

In  his  domestic  life  Governor  McKinley  is  a  model 
American  citizen.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  writer 
of  this  sketch  to  use  fulsome  language  or  to  comment 
upon  his  private  life,  beyond  the  mere  statement  that 
he  is,  and  has  been,  an  affectionate  son  of  honored 
parents,  his  mother  still  living,  a  devoted  husband, 
and  a  true  friend.  In  his  family  and  social  life, 
and  in  his  personal  habits,  he  commends  himself  to 
the  friends  of  order,  temperance,  and  good  morals. 
In  private  he  is  exemplary,  in  public  life  a  patriotic 
Republican.  It  may  be  said  of  him  with  great  pro- 
priety that  no  man  can  more  fully  represent  in  his 
own  career  than  he  the  great  issues  upon  which  the 
Republican  party  contested  the  election  of  1896. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ANCESTRY — YOUTH — IN    THE    ARMY — STUDENT    OF 
LAW — PROSECUTING   ATTORNEY — HOME  LIFE. 

THE  life  of  William  McKinley  is  that  of  an 
American  boy  who  made  the  best  of  his 
opportunities,  continually  striving  for  bet- 
ter, with  no  vain  longings,  but  a  continuous  will- 
ingness to  work  that  he  might  learn.  It  is  such  a 
story  as  should  be  included  in  every  school-book, 
not  only  as  a  lesson  and  an  inspiration  to  the  young, 
but  as  a  reminder  of  the  possibilities  of  American 
citizenship  to  those  called  upon  to  help  children  in 
their  studies.  He  was  born  at  Niles,  Ohio,  January 
29th,  1843,  and  is  now  in  his  fifty-fourth  year;  his  hair 
is  but  lightly  sprinkled  with  gray,  and  he  is  robust 
and  alert.  McKinley  was  descended  from  a  long 
line  of  citizens  who  in  times  of  peace  were  foremost 
in  industry,  and  in  the  days  of  war  always  at  the 
front.  On  his  father's  side  his  people  were  High- 

42 


43 

land  Scotch,  brawny  and  brainy  men,  who  needed 
only  the  opportunities  and  enlightenment  of  educa- 
tion. They  were  not  of  the  royalist  tribes  of  Scot- 
land, but  a  sturdy  set,  with  a  determined  though 
imperfectly  developed  idea  of  freedom.  Liberty  of 
conscience  was  real  with  them,  and  they  left  the 
Highlands  for  the  north  of  Ireland,  seeking  indepen- 
dence, and  thence  to  America  for  the  greater  liberty 
they  found  and  helped  to  perpetuate. 

James  McKinley,  a  fine  Scotch-Irish  lad  of  twelve 
years,  was  the  first  to  come  to  America.  He  was  the 
father  of  David  McKinley,  the  great-grandfather 
of  the  Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
William  McKinley  came  to  America  with  James, 
and  settled  in  the  South,  where  his  descendants  have 
been  and  are  men  of  distinction.  David  McKinley 
was  a  revolutionary  soldier,  one  of  the  sort  not  re- 
membered in  history,  except  under  the  grand  classi- 
fication of  privates. 

On  his  grandmother's  side  McKinley  comes  of 
equally  good  and  sturdy  stock,  Mary  Rose,  who  mar- 
ried James  McKinley,  the  second,  having  come  from 
Holland,  where  her  ancestors  had  fled  to  escape 
religious  tyranny  in  England.  The  first  of  the  Rose 
family  to  emigrate  to  America  was  Andrew,  who 
came  with  William  Penn  and  was  one  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  thirteen  colonies  before  the  rebellion 
against  Great  Britain.  He  owned  the  land  on  which 
Doylestown  stands  to-day.  It  was  his  son,  Andrew 
Rose,  who  was  the  father  of  Mary  Rose,  the  mother 


44  McKIKLEY'S   EARLY  DAYS 

of  William  McKinley,  Sr.  This  Andrew  Rose  did 
more  than  double  duty  in  the  war  for  freedom  against 
Great  Britain.  He  fought  and  made  weapons  to 
fight  with. 

This  is  an.  ancestry  typically  American,  one  of 
soldiers  and  workers  for  the  country's  welfare  and 
wealth,  and  McKinley's  good  fortune  cast  his  lot  in 
a  happy  home,  where  the  true  mother  imbued  the 
children  with  love  of  God  and  the  country. 

In  the  small  town  of  Niles,  in  the  county  of 
Trumbull,  Ohio's  great  son,  whom  the  Republicans 
have  just  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  was  born  in 
an  unpretentious  frame  building,  a  house  that  was 
partly  dwelling  and  partly  country  store,  the  dwell* 
ing  very  neat  and  bright — a  good  home.  There  was 
no  silver  spoon  in  William  McKinley's  mouth, 
though  his  parents  were  comfortably  situated.  The 
Major  was  the  seventh  child,  and  after  him  there 
were  born  a  girl  and  a  boy. 

If  William  McKinley  is  not  a  member  of  the 
"Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,"  he  has  a  perfect 
right  to  become  one,  for  he  has  Revolutionary  ances- 
tors on  both  sides.  His  great-grandfather,  David 
McKinley,  a  Pennsylvanian,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  enlisting  at  twenty-one,  serving  for  one 
year  and  nine  months.  His  great-grandfather  on  his 
grandmother's  side  was  not  only  a  soldier  but  he  was 
a  good  mechanic,  and  molded  bullets  and  made 
cannon  balls  for  the  men  who  were  fighting  for"  free- 
dom. He  was  enlisted  in  the  Revolution,  and  added 


MeKINLEY'S   EARLY   DAYS  45 

to  his  services  the  mechanical  genius  which  he 
possessed.  This  union  of  the  excellent  qualities  of  a 
soldier  aid  r>8chanic  was  of  excellent  service  to  the 
cause. 

David  McKinley's  second  son,  James,  married 
Mary  Kose,  daughter  of  Andrew  Rose,  Jr.,  the 
revolutionary  soldier  and  founder.  James  McKin- 
ley  raised  a  large  family.  Indeed,  that  seems  to 
have  been  characteristic  of  the  stock.  His  second 
son,  William,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  was  the  father 
of  the  present  Republican  candidate  for  President. 
William  McKinley,  Sr.,  married  Nancy  Campbell 
A  lison.  The  Allisons  were  good  stock.  They 
ca^ne  from  England  to  Virginia  and  multiplied,  the 
brunch  from  which  Mrs.  William  McKinley,  Sr., 
sprung  emigrating  to  Pennsylvania.  Major  Mc- 
Kinley's  grandfather,  Abner  Allison,  married  Ann 
Campbell,  in  Green  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1798. 
Ann  Campbell  was  of  Scotch-German  origin.  The 
family  moved  to  New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  where  their  ten 
children  were  born.  It  was  at  New  Lisbon,  in 
1827,  that  William  McKinley,  Sr.,  married  Nancy 
Campbell  Allison.  It  may  be  interesting  to  state 
that,  could  the  lines  be  fully  followed  out,  it  would 
be  found  that  Major  McKinley  is  a  third  or  fourth 
cousin,  possibly  fifth  or  sixth,  of  William  B.  Allison, 
of  Iowa,  who  was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  at 
St.  Louis.  The  Allisons  spread  through  the  western 
country,  some  of  them  settling  in  the  vicinity  of 
Chillicothe.  It  was  probably  from  the  Pennsylvania 


46  McKINLEY'S   EARLY   DAYS 

branch  that  William  B.  Allison  sprung,  for  he  was 
born  in  Ohio,  in  a  portion  of  the  State  not  far  from 
New  Lisbon. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  McKinleys  and  the  fami- 
lies into  which  they  married  were  all  industrious, 
hard-working  people,  religiously  inclined,  patriots 
and  pioneers — a  hardy  race  that  baffled  with  diffi- 
culty and  helped  in  carving  a  civilization  out  of  a 
wilderness.  The  McKinley-Rose-Allison  families 
were  all  Pennsylvanians  originally,  and  a  people 
with  a  trend  toward  the  iron  business.  The  Roses 
were  iron  founders,  so  was  McKinley's  father,  while 
his  mother's  people  were  farmers.  The  combination 
of  tillers  of  the  soil  and  molders  of  the  ore  was  a 
good  one,  and  added  much  to  the  strength  of  charac- 
ter and  the  industrious  application  that  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  Major  McKinley. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  McKinley,  Sr.,  settled  first 
at  Fairfield,  Ohio,  another  small  town.  There,  in 
Columbiana  County,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the 
Eighteenth  Ohio  District,  which  his  son  represented 
for  fourteen  years  in  Congress,  the  father  established 
an  iron  foundry,  and  for  two  decades  he  had  interests 
in  iron  furnaces  in  New  Wilmington,  Ohio.  It  is* 
interesting  to  observe  that  McKinley's  ancestry 
makes  it  possible  to  trace  his  character.  The  lines 
of  activity  pursued  by  his  forefathers  were  such  as 
to  leave  their  impress  upon  their  offspring,  and 
much  as  Major  McKinley  owes  to  his  own  energy 
and  labor,  the  tendency  to  study,  to  activity,  and  to 


McKIXLEY'S   EAELY  DAYS  47 

continued  effort  was  inherited.  He  had  opportu« 
nities  for  application,  and  to  his  credit  be  it  said 
he  did  not  neglect  them.  He  had  openings  and 
chances  broader  and  better  than  his  ancestors,  and 
took  advantage  of  them.  It  is  seen  from  this  short 
reference  to  his  ancestry  that  Major  McKinley  was 
one  of  the  people  born  in  plain,  respectable,  and 
religious  surroundings.  He  did  not  have  the  advan- 
tages nor  the  embarrassments  of  a  great  name,  but  pro- 
ceeded by  his  own  effort,  by  his  own  continuity  of 
purpose,  by  study  and  energy,  to  make  his  name  great. 
William  McKinley  had  a  good  mother.  That  she 
is  now  living,  strong  and  well,  with  as  active  an 
intellect  as  ever  at  eighty-seven,  is  one  of  his  great 
joys.  Vigorous  and  energetic  and  strong  as  his 
father  was,  William  McKinley,  Jr.,  had  the  benefit 
of  a  mother's  training,  of  her  love  and  devotion,  of 
her  gentle  guidance,  of  her  religious  instruction. 
Mrs.  McKinley,  as  most  mothers  of  large  families, 
was  enabled  to  do  more  for  her  children  because 
they  were  numerous  than  had  she  but  one  or 
two.  The  danger  of  being  spoiled  was  obviated,  and 
the  association  with  brothers  and  sisters  naturally 
produced  a  thoughtfulness  for  others,  a  regard  for 
different  opinions,  and  at  the  same  time  helped 
develop  an  ability  to  care  for  himself,  since  in  a 
family  of  many  members,  no  matter  how  harmonious 
and  loving  it  be,  there  is  always  a  struggle  for 
supremacy,  particularly  when  there  Is  an  inheritance 
of  aggressiveness. 


48  McKINLEY'S    EARLY  DAYS 

William  McKinley's  mother  is  a  Christian  woman. 
She  loved  her  country  ways,  and  trained  her  son  to 
patriotic  views,  and  willingly  offered  him  for  sacrifice 
when  she  consented  to  his  entering  the  army  to  help 
put  down  the  rebellion  when  he  was  not  yet  eighteen 
years  old.  She  has  pride  in  his  abilities  and  world- 
wide reputation,  and  is  undoubtedly  rejoiced  that  he 
has  been  named  for  the  greatest  and  most  exalted 
office  in  the  world.  But  such  a  mother  as  McKinley 
has  would  count  this  honor  as  nothing,  would  be 
unhappy,  if  it  had  been  secured  unworthily.  Truly 
Mrs.  McKinley's  greatest  happiness  lies  in  the  fact 
that  her  son  is  an  honorable  man  and  respected  even 
by  his  enemies,  because  his  life  has  been  free  from 
stain.  That  good  old  mother  lives  in  Canton  now, 
happy  in  her  son's  preferment,  and  sad  only  because 
her  good  husband  was  taken  away  three  years  ago, 
before  he  could  see  his  son  the  Presidential  candidate 
of  his  party. 

The  family  moved  to  Poland  from  Niles  when 
William  McKinley  was  still  young.  The  mother 
desired  her  children  to  have  educational  advantages, 
and  there  was  in  Poland,  Ohio,  an  academy  which  in 
those  days  had  a  wide  reputation  for  the  abilities  of 
its  teachers.  There  Major  McKinley's  sister,  Annie, 
became  a  teacher  and  William  a  scholar.  The  young 
boy  made  friends  always  by  his  quiet  dignity  and 
serious  habits— a  student  always,  but  withal  a  manly 
fellow,  who  could  play  as  hard  as  he  studied.  The 
McKinley  family  was  held  in  high  esteem  in  Po~ 


McKIXLE  Y-S    EARLY   DAYS  49 

land,  and  to  this  day  it  is  remembered  with  affection 
and  pleasure.  The  testimony  of  old  friends,  the 
stories  of  childhood,  are  always  true  indications  of 
the  character  of  a  young  man,  and  of  McKiuley  there- 
is  nothing  in  criticism  said.  Everybody  liked  him 
as  a  boy,  and,  of  course,  bright  and  thorough  in  his 
work  as  he  was,  there  were  prophecies  that  he  would 
make  a  great  man.  That  often  happens  with  like- 
able children,  but,  alas !  it  too  seldom  is  verified  by 
the  future. 

The  town  of  Poland  was  an  agricultural  and  min- 
ing village,  only  eight  miles  from  Youngstown,  and 
consequently  near  the  Pennsylvania  State  line,  a  city 
in  the  now  prosperous  and  fertile  Mahoning  Valley, 
which  is  as  famous  in  Ohio  as  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley is  in  New  England.  Poland  never  grew  much. 
It  was  too  near  Youngstown,  but  the  citizens  of  the 
town  are  proud  that  small  as  it  is,  the  draft  was 
never  enforced  there,  for  the  men  volunteered  from 
patriotic  motives.  In  fact  there  were  always  more 
volunteers  than  Poland's  quota  justified. 

A  boy,  while  studying  in  the  public  schools,  the 
educational  advantages  he  gained  made  him  one  of 
their  best  friends  and  advocates.  To  him  the 
magnificent  school  system  of  Ohio  is  a  matter  of 
pride  In  the  days  of  McKinley's  youth  men  and 
boys  often  did  chores  to  help  the  family  along,  and 
that  was  what  McKiuley  himself  did.  McKinley 
was  a  clerk  in  the  Poland  post-office  when  he  entered 
the  war.  He  was  studying  aod  marking  at  the  same 


50  McKINLEY'S   EAELY  DAYS 

time.  One  had  a  feeling  of  pride  in  the  advance- 
ment of  a  young  man  who  struggled  for  his  educa- 
tion. So  many  have  been  educated  without  having 
to  work  to  pay  for  it,  and  have  not  properly  regarded 
the  educational  advantages,  that  there  is  a  tingle  of 
satisfaction  in  seeing  a  man  succeed  who  earned  his 
education  literally  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow. 

In  June,  1861,  two  months  after  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Sumter,  when  McKinley  was  a  youth  not  yet 
eighteen,  there  was  a  meeting  at  the  tavern  in 
Poland,  In  a  small  town  the  hotel  is  a  meeting 
place,  just  as  a  store  is  in  a  village.  Here  the  citizens 
had  assembled,  thirty-five  years  ago,  to  discuss  the 
secession  of  States.  A  speaker  in  a  fiery  talk  asked 
who  would  be  first  to  defend  the  flag.  The  boys  of 
Poland  came  forward,  one  by  one,  and  among  them 
was  our  next  President,  a  slight,  pale-faced  young 
man,  of  studious  mien.  Two  years  before  he  had 
joined  the  Methodist  church,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Bible-class,  who  was  constantly  seeking  informa- 
tion. Before  the  war,  at  seventeen,  he  had  gone  to 
Allegheny  College,  but  an  illness  called  him  home. 
He  did  not  return,  but  took  to  teaching  school — a 
youth  instructing  scholars  at  a  country  school,  some 
of  them  as  old  as  he. 

McKinley  at  that  meeting  enlisted  in  Company  E 
of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteers,  a  regiment 
that  produced  such  men  as  Stanley  Matthews,  after- 
ward Senator  and  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court;  President  Hayes,  and  of  which  W.  Sk  Rose- 


McKIXLEY'S   EARLY  DAYS  51 

crans  was  first  colonel.  He  served  fourteen  months 
as  a  private.  Speaking  of  McKinley's  connection 
with  the  regiment,  General  Hayes  said :  "  At  once  it 
was  found  that  he  had  unusual  character  for  the 
mere  business  of  war.  There  is  a  quartermaster's 
department,  which  is  a  very  necessary  and  important 
department  in  every  regiment,  in  every  brigade,  in 
every  division,  in  every  army.  Young  as  he  was,  we 
soon  found  that  in  business,  in  executive  ability, 
young  McKinley  was  a  man  of  rare  capacity,  of  un- 
usual and  unsurpassed  capacity,  especially  for  a  boy 
of  his  age.  When  battles  were  fought  or  service  was 
to  be  performed  in  warlike  things,  he  always  took 
his  place.  The  night  was  never  too  dark;  the 
weather  was  never  too  cold ;  there  was  no  sleet  or 
storm,  or  hail  or  snow,  or  rain  that  was  in  the  way 
of  his  prompt  and  efficient  performance  of  every 
duty.'' 

That  is  a  great  tribute  from  a  great  man.  Mc- 
Kinley soon  went  on  General  Hayes's  staff,  when  the 
then  major  became  commander  of  the  regiment,  and 
he  served  in  that  capacity  for  two  years,  and  served 
so  well  that  Hayes  knew  "  him  like  a  book  and  loved 
him  like  a  brother."  That  friendship  continued, 
and  the  writer  remembers  at  the  funeral  of  the  ex- 
President,  in  1892,  Governor  McKinley,  who  was 
there  with  his  staff,  cried  like  a  child  when  he  looked 
at  the  body  of  his  old  commander  and  personal 
friend. 

At  the  battle  of  Antittam  on  September  17th;  1862, 


52  McKINLEY'S   EARLY   DAYS 

probably  the  bloodiest  day  of  the  war,  McKinley  was 
commissary  sergeant  in  the  Twenty-third  Ohio. 
General  Hayes  says  of  his  services  then :  "  That 
battle  began  at  daylight.  Before  daylight  men  were 
in  the  ranks  and  preparing  for  it.  Without  break- 
fast, without  coffee,  they  went  into  the  fight,  and  it 
continued  until  after  the  sun  had  set.  Early  in  the 
afternoon,  naturally  enough,  with  the  exertion  re- 
quired of  the  men,  they  were  famished  and  thirsty, 
and  to  some  extent  broken  in  spirit.  The  commissary 
department  of  that  brigade  was  under  Sergeant 
McKinley's  administration  and  personal  supervision. 
From  his  hands  every  man  in  the  regiment  was 
served  with  hot  coffee  and  warm  meats — a  thing  that 
had  never  occurred  under  similar  circumstances  in 
any  other  army  in  the  world.  He  passed  under  fire 
and  delivered  with  his  own  hands  these  things  so 
essential  to  the  men  for  whom  he  was  laboring. 
Coming  to  Ohio  and  recovering  from  wounds,  I 
called  upon  Governor  Todd  and  told  him  this  inci- 
dent. With  the  emphasis  that  distinguished  that 
great  war  governor,  he  said:  'Let  McKinley  be 
promoted  from  sergeant  to  lieutenant.'  And  that  I 
might  not  forget,  he  requested  me  to  put  it  upon  the 
roster  of  the  regiment,  which  I  did,  and  McKinley 
was  promoted." 

;;  Speaking  of  his  war  service,  Major  McKinley  said, 
just  before  he  retired  from  the  governorship  of 
Ohio:  "I  always  look  back  with  pleasure  upon 
those  fourteen  months  in  which  I  served  in  the 


McKINLEY'S   EAELY   DAYS  53 

ranks.  They  taught  me  a  great  deal.  I  was  but 
a  school-boy  when  I  went  into  the  army,  and  that 
first  year  was  a  formative  period  in  my  life,  during 
which  I  learned  much  of  men  and  of  affairs.  I 
have  always  been  glad  that  I  entered  the  service  as 
a  private  and  served  those  months  in  that  capacity." 

At  the  battle  of  Kernstown  McKinley  was  on 
General  Hayes's  staff.  Crook's  corps  had  been  ex- 
pecting an  easy  time  when  it  appeared  that  the 
enemy  was  in  force  at  Kernstown,  about  four  miles 
from  Winchester,  where  Crook's  troops  were.  There 
had  been  some  misinformation  regarding  the  Con- 
federate general  Early's  movements,  and  the  force 
about  to  be  met  was  that  of  Early,  which  outnum- 
bered Crook's  corps  three  to  one.  When  the  battle 
began  one  of  the  regiments  was  not  in  position,  and 
Lieutenant  McKinley  was  ordered  to  bring  it  in. 
The  road  to  the  regiment  needed  was  through  open 
fields  and  right  in  the  enemy's  line  of  fire.  Shells 
were  bursting  on  his  right  and  left,  but  the  boy  sol- 
dier rode  on.  He  reached  the  regiment,  gave  the 
orders  to  them,  and  at  his  suggestion  the  regiment 
fired  on  the  enemy  and  slowly  withdrew  to  take  the 
position  where  they  were  assigned.  It  was  a  gallant 
act  of  the.  boy  soldier,  and  General  Hayes  had  not 
expected  him  to  come  back  alive. 

At  the  battle  of  Opequan  he  was  on  General  Hayes's 
staff  still.  There  he  distinguished  himself  for  gallan- 
try, for  good  judgment,  and  military  skill.  He  had 
'*>een  ordered  to  bring  General  Duval's  troops  to  join 


54  McKINLEY'S  EARLY  DAYS. 

the  first  division,  which  was  getting  into  battle.  There 
was  a  question  as  to  the  route  to  take.  The  young 
officer  knew  it  intuitively,  and,  acting  on  his  own 
responsibility,  directed  Duval  the  way  to  go,  and 
brought  the  troops  up  in  good  style,  taking  great 
chances  in  doing  so,  but  succeeding  nevertheless. 
Other  equally  courageous  and  dangerous  things  the 
Ohio  officer  undertook.  He  served  with  General 
Crook  as  a  staff  officer  later  on,  and  was  finally  as- 
signed to  duty  with  General  Hancock.  He  entered 
the  war  a  private,  one  of  the  several  hundred  thou- 
sand, a  boy  of  seventeen,  and  left  it  a  major  in  the 
United  States  Volunteers  by  brevet,  and  he  earned 
every  promotion  by  his  own  skill.  Think  of  it,  a 
major  at  twenty-one !  Major  McKinley  still  has  his 
brevet  commission.  It  was  given  him  in  1864,  and 
reads :  "  For  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the 
battle  of  Opequan,  Cedar  Creek,  and  Fisher's  Hill." 
Who  signed  that?  "A.  Lincoln."  It  is  a  testimo- 
nial of  bravery,  of  patriotism,  and  of  manliness,  and 
Major  McKinley  is  proud  of  it.  Who  blames  him  ? 
There  are  other  records  more  brilliant ;  others,  but 
none  displayed  more  courage,  and  few  had  equal  re- 
sponsibilities at  his  age.  His  horse  was  shot  from 
under  him  at  Berryville.  He  can  appreciate  the 
hardships  of  the  private  soldier's  life,  for  he  endured 
them  himself.  He  knows  the  worries  of  the  officer, 
for  these  also  he  experienced.  He  understands  the 
duties  of  a  staff  officer,  for  he  was  one.  There  is 
everything  in  his  record  that  is  creditable,  and  noth- 


McKINLEY'S   EARLY   DAYS  55 

ing  that  is  discreditable.  H«  was  a  typical  American 
citizen  soldier. 

After  the  surrender  at  Appomattox,  and  after  he 
was  mustered  out,  Major  McKinley  was  offered  a 
commission  in  the  regular  army.  It  was  a  tempta- 
tion hard  to  resist,  for  four  years  in  the  army,  at  the 
formative  period  of  his  life,  gave  him  a  love  for 
military  service  that  was  hard  to  overcome.  What 
might  have  been  his  career  had  he  remained  in  the 
army  no  one  can  tell.  There  is  little  chance  for 
advancement  there,  but  he  would  probably  have  ulti- 
mately commanded  a  regiment,  and  with  the  prejudice 
against  officers  appointed  from  civilian  life  he  might 
never  have  risen  higher  and  perhaps  might  not  have 
attained  that  rank. 

Acting  on  the  advice  of  his  father,  he  entered 
civil  life.  He  studied  law  in  Mahoning  County, 
under  Judge  Glidden,  who  was  one  of  the  noted  men 
at  the  Stark  County  bar.  Under  him  MeKinley 
studied  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  his  family  made 
sacrifices  to  enable  him  to  do  so.  Their  unselfish- 
ness enabled  him  to  go  to  the  Albany  Law  School, 
which  has  developed  many  men  of  brain  and  ability. 
In  1867,  twenty-nine  years  ago,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  chose  Canton,  then  a  small  town  of 
about  6,000  people,  for  his  home.  Canton  was  not 
important  then,  though  the  county  of  Stark  was 
destined  to  develop  and  prosper  under  the  policy  of 
protection  which  he  advocated.  Great  manufactories 
were  to  develop  there,  and  the  Mahoning  Valley  was 


56  McKINLEY'S    EAELY   DAYS 

to  be  smoke  laden  by  the  industry  and  the  sky  abovt 
it  to  be  lightened  by  the  blazing  chimneys  of  fur- 
naces. 

Major  McKinley  had  been  a  good  debater  at 
school.  He  was  often  the  winner  in  such  contests, 
After  he  got  back  from  the  war  he  entered  a  polit- 
ical debate,  and  was  overcome  by  his  opponent.  Nat- 
urally a  sensitive  man,  he  was  chagrined,  and  re- 
solved that  never  again  would  there  be  the  oppor- 
tunity given  for  a  similar  defeat.  The  subject  of  the 
debate  was  protection,  and  McKinley  knew  his  view 
was  right.  Though  worsted  in  the  argument,  he 
had  no  question  as  to  the  logic  of  his  reasoning ;  but 
he  needed  more  facts,  greater  study  to  support  them, 
and  he  immediately  applied  himself  to  acquiring 
them. 

Though  a  newcomer,  he  had  gained  a  reputation 
for  legal  ability  in  Stark  County,  which  was  Demo- 
cratic. It  appeared  as  if  it  would  be  a  herculean 
task  to  carry  it.  McKinley  had  a  natural  aptitude 
for  politics,  and  his  life  as  an  attorney  tended  to 
increase  it.  The  Eepublicans  wanted  a  candidate 
for  Prosecuting  Attorney.  Some  say  McKinley  was 
chosen  simply  because  of  his  ability,  and  others  that 
while  his  capacity  was  recognized,  the  Eepublicans 
did  not  think  the  place  worth  fighting  for  when  de- 
feat seemed  certain,  and  gave  it  to  McKinley,  a  new 
man,  as  a  mark  of  recognition.  Now  Major  Mc- 
Kinley never  in  his  life  entered  a  fight  to  lose  it. 
He  never  confessed  himself  beaten.  The  stem  de- 


MRS.   WILLIAM   McKINLEY. 


59 

termination  of  his  ancestors  came  to  him  in  good 
stead,  and  he  went  into  the  campaign  to  win.  He 
was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney,  much  to  the  sur- 
prise of  the  Democrats.  There  he  displayed  his 
customary  ability,  and  was  renominated,  only  to  be 
defeated,  but  the  opponent  who  overcame  him  won 
by  forty-five  votes  only. 

The  campaigns  for  Prosecuting  Attorney  marked 
the  beginning  of  McKinley's  political  career. 
While  practicing  law  he  took  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics, but  did  not  run  for  office  until  1876.  He 
stumped  the  district  and  often  now  speaks  with 
pleasure  of  his  experiences  as  a  young  stump 
speaker.  The  writer  has  driven  through  much  of 
Stark  County  and  Columbiana  and  Mahoning  Coun- 
ties, which  form  part  of  the  eighteenth  district,  and 
remembers  the  pride  and  pleasure  which  the  Major 
would  derive  from  discussing  the  old  speech- 
making  days,  and  tell  us  that  he  had  spoken  here 
and  there,  and  give  some  incident  of  that  life.  Old 
inhabitants  of  the  district  tell  of  the  great  demand 
there  was  for  the  young  speaker,  of  his  eloquence 
and  control  of  the  subject  he  handled.  They  say  he 
spoke  as  well  as  a  young  man  as  he  does  now,  but 
that  cannot  be,  for  practice  has  perfected  his  delivery 
and  enabled  him  to  develop  into  a  great  orator. 

After  his  first  term  as  Prosecuting  Attorney,  dur- 
ing the  five  years  that  passed  before  he  ran  for  Con- 
gress, Major  McKinley  secured  a  large  law  practice. 
He  prer^'°d  every  case  thoroughly,  knew  every  de- 


60  McKINLEY'S    EAELY   DAYS 

tail,  sifted  the  evidence,  examined  witnesses  to  the 
most  minute  detail ;  in  fact,  when  he  went  into  a 
trial,  he  knew  all  there  was  to  be  known  of  the  case 
he  had  in  hand.  It  was  characteristic  of  him  to 
study  his  subject.  No  one  ever  found  him  unpre- 
pared. He  was  persuasive  as  an  advocate,  for  he 
was  eloquent.  This  natural  ability,  combined  with 
his  thorough  understanding  of  the  matter  in  hand, 
gave  him  many  victories  and  made  his  reputation  as 
a  lawyer.  The  experiences  at  the  bar  in  Stark 
County  were  further  preparations  for  his  leadership 
of  the  House.  It  was  educational  for  him. 

In  1871  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  Saxton,  whose 
father  was  a  man  of  considerable  literary  ability, 
and  the  editor  of  the  Canton  Repository,  which  to 
this  day  is  an  able  paper.  He  was  a  banker  as  well. 
She  was  thoroughly  educated,  given  a  trip  abroad, 
which  in  the  days  following  the  war  was  an  unusual 
advantage  for  a  young  woman,  particularly  when  she 
came  from  a  State  six  hundred  miles  from  the  sea. 
After  that  trip  she  entered  her  father's  banking 
house  as  cashier.  She  left  that  to  marry  William 
McKinley,  Jr.  Her  father  did  not  like  the  idea  of 
her  marrying,  but  he  said  that  Major  McKinley  was 
the  only  man  he  was  willing  that  she  should  marry. 
Two  girls  blessed  this  union.  One  died  when  still  a 
baby,  and  the  other  after  it  had  reached  four  years 
and  had  become  the  joy  of  the  house.  Mrs.  McKin- 
ley had  been  worn  by  the  death  of  her  father,  and 
this  additional  affliction  aided  in  breaking  her  health. 


McKINLEY'S   EAELY  DAYS  61 

She  had  been  a  strong  young  woman,  but  the  cares 
of  motherhood  had  brought  on  an  illness  from  which 
she  has  never  recovered.  However,  she  is  stronger 
since  the  Major  left  Congress,  and  though  unable  to 
attend  to  any  great  amount  of  social  duties,  has  many 
friends,  and  all  who  know  her  admire  her  for  her 
patience  and  good  spirits,  her  gentleness  and  devo- 
tion, and  admiration  for  her  husband. 

She  likes  to  see  her  friends  and  loves  children, 
who  know  they  are  always  welcome  at  her  house. 
Mrs.  McKinley  is  an  adept  with  the  needle,  and  she 
knits  well,  too.  Many  clothes  and  warm  mitts  and 
jackets  she  has  made  for  friends  and  for  the  poor. 
They  are  .prized  greatly  by  all  who  get  them.  Mrs. 
McKinley  travels  a  deal  to  be  with  her  husband,  and 
has  often  heard  him  speak,  as  on  four  or  five  occa- 
sions during  the  gubernatorial  campaign  of  1893. 
In  that  prolonged  contest,  when  the  Governor  spoke 
more  than  three  hundred  times  in  eighty  out  of  the 
eighty-eight  counties  of  the  State,  he  was  never  too 
weary  after  the  last  meeting  on  Saturday  to  take  a 
train  for  Columbus,  or  Cincinnati,  or  Cleveland,  or 
Chicago,  where  Mrs.  McKinley  happened  to  be,  that 
he  might  spend  Sunday  with  her.  It  was  a  beauti- 
ful devotion,  and  not  at  all  surprising  when  the 
Major's  tender  care  and  solicitude  for  his  wife  is  re- 
membered. 

Though  an  invalid,  Mrs.  McKinley  has  been  cheer- 
ful and  in  trying  times  brave,  never  faltering  in  her 
belief  in  her  husband  and  ever  ready  to  cheer  him, 


62  McKINLEY'S    EAKLY   DAYS 

Ill-health  is  trying  and  a  test  of  disposition,  but 
Mrs.  McKinley  has  never  complained,  and  has  always 
been  resigned.  The  death  of  her  children,  Kate  and 
Ida  (the  latter  was  born  on  Christmas,  1871),  was 
a  cruel  blow,  but  both  the  Major  and  his  wife  have 
borne  their  sorrow  patiently  and  with  Christian 
spirit.  They  have  sought  the  happiness  that  their 
children  would  have  given  in  closer  union  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  little  ones  of  others. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

McKinley  in  Congress — The  rapid  growth  of  his  National  Repute" 
tion — Became  the  Champion  of  Protection — First  in  a  National 
Convention. 

In  the  five  years  that  followed  his  retirement  from 
the  prosecuting  attorneyship  of  Stark  County,  Ohio, 
Major  McKinley  had  grown  in  popularity  and  in 
the  estimation  of  his  neighbors.  In  the  centennial 
year  he  was  brought  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Republican  congressional  nomination.  L.  D.  Woods- 
worth,  of  Mahoning,  was  the  representative,  and 
there  were  other  candidates,  including  three  from 
Stark  County.  That  county  then  elected  its  dele- 
gates to  the  congressional  convention  by  primaries 
in  every  township.  To  the  surprise  of  his  opponents 
William  McKinley,  who  knew,  and  was  known,  in 
every  hamlet  and  town  and  village  and  community 
in  the  county,  carried  all  the  townships  but  one,  and 
that  was  so  small  that  it  had  but  one  delegate.  The 
Major  had  been  through  all  the  other  counties  of 
the  old  eighteenth  district,  and  in  one  of  them  he 
was  born.  It  was  not  a  difficult  matter  to  secure  a 
majority  in  these  counties,  and  as  a  result  he  was 
nominated  with  a  cheer  on  the  first  ballot. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  old  political  war-horses 

63 


64  McKINLEY  IN   CONGRESS 

of  the  district  were  amazed  at  this  rise  of  a  young 
man,  only  thirty-three.  McKinley  had  triumphed, 
and  never  afterward  was  it  possible  to  contest  his 
right  to  represent  that  district.  He  dominated  it. 
The  Republican  party  was  proud  of  him,  and  though 
it  was  not  customary  in  that  district,  and  in  fact  it  is 
not  the  habit  in  any  Ohio  district,  except  the  one 
which  General  Garfield  and  E.  B.  Taylor  represented 
for  so  many  years,  to  name  a  man  for  more  than  two 
terms.  It  is  this  habit  that  makes  Ohio  less  of  a 
power  in  the  national  house  than  she  would  other- 
wise be.  A  Congressman,  as  soon  as  he  has  learned 
the  ways  of  Congress  and  has  been  there  long 
enough  to  do  good  work  for  his  district,  is  super- 
seded by  some  ambitious  man,  unprepared  to  do  as 
well  as  his  predecessor ;  but  the  anxiety  to  become  a 
statesman  is  so  general  in  Ohio,  and  there  is  so  much 
good  timber  there,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  this 
should  be  the  case. 

Major  McKinley  represented  the  eighteenth  dis- 
trict for  fifteen  years.  The  Democrats  gerryman- 
dered him  three  times.  He  had  been  in  the  House 
but  two  years,  one  term,  when  his  county  was  placed 
in  a  district  that  had  a  Democratic  majority  of  1,800. 
Major  McKinley  stumped  the  district  from  one  end 
to  the  other,  and  carried  it  by  1,300  plurality — 
truly  a  great  victory.  In  1880  he  was  again  elected. 
Thus  by  the  time  he  was  thirty-nine  he  had  repre- 
sented his  district  in  Congress  three  times.  In  1882 
the  district  was  again  gerrymandered.  He  had  a 


McKINLEY  IN   CONGRESS  65 

majority  on  the  face  of  the  returns  of  eight  votes. 
His  opponent  was  named  Wallace.  Toward  the  end 
of  the  session  of  that  Congress  he  was  unseated  by 
a  Democratic  House  and  Wallace  given  his  place. 
That  year,  1882,  was  not  a  very  bright  one  for  the 
Republicans.  It  will  be  recalled  that  then  it  was 
that  Secretary  Folger  was  defeated  for  Governor  of 
New  York  by  Grover  Cleveland,  of  Buffalo,  by  a 
majority  of  192,000  votes.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  rise  of  the  man  whom  McKinley  will  succeed 
in  the  Presidential  chair.  How  remarkable  it  seems, 
looking  backward,  that  the  ex-sheriff  of  Buffalo 
and  the  ex-mayor  of  the  city  of  Buffalo  should 
have  been  chosen  Governor  over  such  a  tried  and 
true  Republican  as  Folger.  However,  Mr.  Cleve- 
land is  now  even  more  unpopular  than  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  when  he  was  elected  Governor. 
Secretary  Folger  told  McKinley  in  1882  that  he  had 
won  a  great  victory  to  be  returned  to  Congress  at 
that  time. 

Unseated  toward  the  end  of  the  Forty-eighth  Con- 
gress, McKinley  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-ninth,  in 
1884,  by  a  great  majority,  and  remained  in  Congress, 
being  a  member  of  the  Forty-ninth,  Fiftieth,  and 
Fifty-first  congresses,  being  defeated  by  a  wicked 
gerrymander  for  the  Fifty-second.  Slowly  but 
surely  he  has  grown  in  influence.  He  had  been 
modest  in  his  first  years  of  congressional  life.  A 
young  man,  full  of  enthusiasm  and  study  and  in- 
heriting an  interest  in  the  industries  of  the  country, 


66  McKINLEY  IN  CONGRESS 

a  natural  researcher,  he  was  from  the  beginning  a 
protectionist.  The  district  he  represented  was  a 
manufacturing  one.  He  studied  its  needs,  saw  where 
protection  was  a  benefit,  and  proposed  to  stand  by 
that  cause.  That  he  has  done  so  is  known  to  every- 
body.  He  has  been  nominated  for  the  Presidency 
because  he  is  a  protectionist.  He  had  the  insight  to 
see  what  policy  was  most  important  to  his  country, 
and,  convinced  that  his  view  was  the  proper  one,  he 
prepared  himself  to  support  it.  That  he  has  done 
so  ably  even  his  enemies  admit.  He  knows  the  in- 
dustries of  the  country  thoroughly,  is  informed  of 
business  conditions  in  every  section — a  student  of 
economics,  a  patient  digger  for  information,  a  per- 
sistent questioner  regarding  conditions  everywhere. 
This  is  apparent  from  his  wonderful  tariff  speeches. 
The  tariff  is  a  dull  subject  at  best,  but  McKinley 
makes  the  figures  and  statistics  which  encumber  it, 
and  ordinarily  weary,  interesting.  His  hearers  feel 
that  they  are  a  part  of  himself  and  accordingly  are 
attracted.  There  is  almost  a  poetic  tinge  in  his  elo- 
quent tariff  speeches.  They  are,  many  of  them,  as 
good  English  as  is  written.  Then  their  facts  are  un- 
assailable. 

It  was  in  his  second  term  in  Congress  that  William 
McKinley  made  a  reputation  as  a  tariff  debater. 
He  had  probably  addressed  the  House  on  other  sub- 
iects,  but  then  he  had  its  attention,  and  it  was 
appreciated  by  Judge  Kelley,  the  leader  on  the 
"Republican  side,  tnat  a  new  force  had  entered  Con- 


McKINLEY   IN   CONGRESS  67 

gress,  an  able  exponent  of  protection  was  on  the 
floor.  He  was  not  a  member  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  then,  for  General  Garfield  repre- 
sented Ohio  on  that  committee  at  that  time.  Few 
remember  the  Wood  tariff  bill  of  1878 — a  bill  in- 
tended to  scale  down  revenue.  McKinley  saw  that 
it  was  a  blow  to  the  protective  system,  that  it  was  a 
step  toward  free  trade,  which  he  has  been  fighting 
ever  since.  He  secured  recognition  in  April  of  1878, 
and  addressed  the  House  at  length.  His  speech  is 
very  interesting  reading  now,  and  surprises  even 
those  who  are  informed  of  his  ability,  know  his 
power  and  grasp  of  every  subject,  that  he  should 
then,  so  young  and  comparatively  inexperienced  in 
congressional  work,  have  delivered  such  an  admir- 
able plea  for  protection, .such  an  appeal  to  the  House 
not  to  strike  down  the  industries  of  his  district — of 
the  country.  Every  argument  he  made  then  is  good 
now  against  free  trade.  It  was  really  a  wonderful 
speech,  and  it  made  the  young  congressman  from 
the  old  eighteenth  district  a  figure  in  the  House. 
Ever  after  that  when  he  spoke  he  received  attention. 
His  voice  was  capable  of  filling  the  hall,  whose 
acoustic  properties  are  so  poor.  He  painted  the 
theory  of  free  trade  as  a  dream,  a  menace,  and  was 
roundly  applauded  when  he  had  finished.  That 
speech  made  him  a  reputation  that  was  national.  It 
marked  him  as  the  successor  of  James  A.  Garfield 
on  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  for  Garfield 
was  then  a  candidate  for  the  Senate,  to  which,  it 


68  McKINLEY  IN  CONGKESS 

will  be  remembered,  he  was  elected  before  the  Con- 
vention of  1880  made  him  a  Presidential  candidate. 

McKinley's  Washington  life  was  not  a  very  social 
one.  A  man  of  his  industry  and  studious  habits 
had  little  time  for  the  frivolities  of  society.  Then 
his  wife's  health  would  not  permit  him  to  enter 
therein.  He  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  President 
Hayes,  who  had  been  his  war  commander.  Mrs. 
Hayes  took  an  interest  in  his  invalid  wife  and  they 
were  most  intimate.  Such  a  woman  as  Mrs.  Hayes, 
a  motherly,  lovable,  conscientious  Christian  woman, 
could  not  but  have  been  interested  in  the  little  Ohio 
woman,  whose  husband  promised  to  become  such  a 
man  of  force,  and  the  friendship  there  made  never 
ended  until  death  claimed  the  beloved  "  Lucy " 
Hayes.  But  the  McKinleys  had  friends.  They  were 
not  social  leaders  probably,  though  then  a  congress- 
man was,  if  he  chose,  a  factor  in  Washington 
society.  The  wish  of  the  plutocrats  had  not  out- 
stripped the  congressional  circle,  and  wealth  was  not 
one  of  the  requirements  for  a  successful  Washington 
career,  socially.  Every  one  who  had  the  pleasure 
of  knowing  the  McKinleys  appreciated  their  refine- 
ment and  attractiveness.  They  were  sought  out  by 
many,  but  preferred  a  life  of  comparative  seclusion, 
brightened  by  the  intimate  friends  who  clung  around 
them. 

When  General  Garfield  retired  from  Congress,  to 

<3  ' 

assume  the  ill-fated  Presidency,  Major  McKinley 
was  his  successor  on  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee. 


McKIXLEY  IN  CONGRESS  69 

Older  members  of  that  brainy  set  of  men  were  glad 
to  have  him  one  of  them,  and  Judge  Kelley,  the 
leading  Republican,  the  great  exponent  of  pro- 
tection, who  earned  for  himself  the  title  of  "pig- 
iron  "  Kelley,  welcomed  the  Ohio  man.  It  was 
recognized  that  McKinley  had  a  thorough  and  com- 
plete understanding  of  the  subject  under  discussion 
and  the  tariff  men  were  rejoiced  to  have  their  forces 
so  strengthened. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Major  McKinley  ad- 
vocated protection  because  he  was  convinced  it  was 
necessary  for  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  It  was 
to  him  a  public  duty  to  support  it.  He  had  mas- 
tered all  its  details,  knew  the  theory,  and  was  always 
able  to  show  that  the  free-trade  ideas  meant  destruc- 
tion if  put  in  force.  The  experience  of  the  country 
under  the  present  tariff  reform  measure,  which  Mr. 
Cleveland  himself  said  was  tinged  with  party  perfidy 
and  party  dishonor,  show  conclusively  that  he  was 
right.  The  people  believe  he  is,  and  for  that  reason 
they  demanded  his  nomination.  Nothing  could  stop 
it.  The  wave  of  popular  approval  would  not  be 
hindered.  It  swept  on  and  overwhelmed  all  oppo- 
sition. 

In  1882,  as  a  member  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  he  urged  that  the  Tariff  Commission  be 
appointed,  and  made  an  able  speech  in  its  support. 
The  results  of  that  Commission  are  known.  McKin- 
ley was  one  of  those  who  helped  frame  the  tariff  bill 
of  1883,  which  was  in  force  for  seven  years,  and  was 


70  McKINLEY   IN   GOK^JBESS 

an  admirable  act.  It  was  partially  his  work,  and  in 
the  debates  on  that  measure  he  attained  additional 
reputation.  He  opposed  reduced  taxation,  and 
showed  clearly  that  the  farmers  did  not  want  it. 
Who  now  will  tell  a  farmer  that  a  tariff  hurts  him  ? 
Who  will  urge  any  agriculturist  to  support  tariff 
reform  when  he  has  seen  the  injuries  to  agriculture, 
the  reduction  in  the  price  of  farm  commodities  such 
as  potatoes,  by  reason  of  lessened  duties  thereon  ? 
McKinley  knew  what  was  best  for  the  formers  then, 
and  they  now  support  him  earnestly.  After  his  con- 
nection with  the  Tariff  Act  of  1883  Major  McKin- 
ley was  admitted  as  the  leading  tariff  advocate,  its 
best  exponent.  Older  men  retired  in  his  favor.  He 
had  won  his  promotion  by  merit,  by  work,  and  he 
deserved  it.  It  was  hard,  earnest  effort  that  ad- 
vanced him.  Naturally  bright  and  intellectual,  he 
improved  his  opportunities,  and  succeeded  where 
men  who  might  be  more  brilliant,  but  less  studious 
and  solid,  failed. 

The  Act  of  1883  was  largely  McKinley 's.  He 
and  Judge  Kelley  had  worked  on  it  together,  and 
each  sought  to  give  the  other  credit  for  it.  The 
Morrison  horizontal  reduction  bill  came  up  the  next 
year,  and  here  McKinley  fought  free  trade,  the 
menace  of  reduced  duties,  with  energy.  He  battled 
in  vain,  because  the  Democracy  was  in  the  majority 
in  the  House,  but  his  speeches,  his  arguments,  his 
figures,  his  logic,  added  to  his  great  reputation.  In. 
this  fight  Judge  Kelley  and  Major  McKinley  were 


.McKINLEY  IN  CONGRESS  71 

again  intimately  associated.  They  labored  together 
for  protection,  for  the  preservation  of  our  indus- 
tries, and  staved  off  the  era  of  free  trade — the  ex- 
periment with  a  lower  tariff  that  seemed  inevitable. 
The  Morrison  bill  proposed  to  reduce  the  duties  in 
the  Act  of  March  3d,  1883,  by  twenty  per  cent.  This 
was  the  bill  at  which  the  Democrats  had  laughed 
because  a  Tariff  Commission  had  aided  in  framing 
it.  It  was  a  singular  anomaly  that  the  Democrats 
should  have  brought  in  this  measure,  the  one  they 
had  assaulted  so  vigorously,  in  exactly  the  same 
shape  as  it  had  been  enacted,  with  the  exception  of 
the  horizontal  reduction  of  duties. 

The  Morrison  bill  never  became  a  law,  thanks  to 
a  Republican  Senate,  but  it  gave  Major  McKinley  an 
opportunity  to  display  his  wonderful  command  of 
the  tariff  subject,  to  patriotically  oppose  the  destruc- 
tion of  industrial  America.  It  is  a  striking  contrast 
— the  fates  of  Morrison  and  McKinley.  Morrison 
was  defeated  for  Congress  after  that  measure  had 
passed  the  House,  and  became  the  chairman  of  the 
Commission  on  Interstate  Commerce.  McKinley 
was  defeated  for  Congress  after  the  passage  of  his 
tariff  bill,  and  became  Governor  of  Ohio.  Morrison 
has  been  a  Presidential  aspirant  ever  since,  and  no 
one  has  recognized  him  except  a  few  personal  friends, 
and  in  his  own  brain  alone  has  the  Presidential  bee 
developed.  McKinley  never  permitted  a  bee  to  buzz 
until  the  people  demanded  that  he  should  run. 
Twice  he  declined  the  nomination,  or  rather  refused 


72  McKINLEY  IN   CONGEESS 

to  permit  his  name  to  be  used  when  a  nomination 

was  possible. 

Up  to  1884  Major  McKinley  had  been  known 
chiefly  for  his  connection  with  Congress.  He  had  by 
that  time  a  national  reputation,  and  was  appreciated 
as  a  rising  man.  He  had  not,  however,  entered  into 
the  domain  of  national  politics,  nor  taken  any  con- 
siderable part  in  Ohio  affairs.  He  had  simply  rep- 
resented his  district  in  Congress,  but  Ohio  was  be- 
ginning to  claim  him  as  one  of  her  great  men.  In 
1884  he  was  made  permanent  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican State  Convention  at  Cleveland.  He  displayed 
satisfactory  parliamentary  abilities  there.  He  was 
for  Elaine  for  President,  representing  the  sentiments 
of  his  constituents.  Sherman  was  a  candidate,  but 
Ohio,  as  usual,  was  divided,  and  was  frittering  away 
her  strength.  The  Elaine  men  exceeded  in  their  en- 
thusiasm, but  the  Sherman  men  seemed  to  be  better 
organized.  They  were  managed  by  competent  poli- 
ticians, such  as  have  always  surrounded  John  Sher- 
man in  his  native  State.  At  that  convention  Mc- 
Kinley made  a'  speech  which  was  as  admirable  as  are 
all  his  deliveries.  It  is  perhaps  worth  reproducing 
in  part.  He,  in  purely  extemporaneous  form,  drew 
a  comparison  between  Republicanism  and  Democ- 
racy, that  is  as  true  to-day  as  it  was  twelve  years  ago. 

"  The  difference,"  said  he,  "  between  the  Republi- 
can and  Democratic  parties  is  this — the  Republican 
party  never  made  a  promise  which  it  has  not  kept, 
and  the  Democratic  party  never  made  a  promise 


73 

which  it  has  kept.  Not  in  its  whole  history,  com- 
mencing from  1856  down  to  the  present  hour,  is 
there  a  single  promise  made  by  the  Republican  party 
to  the  people  that  it  has  not  faithfully  kept.  And 
then  it  is  not  a  laggard  party.  If  there  is  any  one 
thing  the  people  like,  it  is  courage.  They  neither 
like  laggards  nor  do  they  like  shams ;  and  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  is  the  embodiment  of  both."  How 
true  are  those  words  to-day,  how  aptly  they  describe 
the  Democracy. 

It  was  at  this  convention  that  Major  McKinley 
showed  stern  determination  to  be  true  to  a  friend. 
With  Elaine  men  and  Sherman  men  fighting  for 
the  supremacy  there,  the  contest  was  necessarily  for 
the  delegates-at-large.  McKinley  had  promised 
friends  who  desired  to  go  as  delegates  that  he  would 
not  be  a  candidate.  When  Judge  King  of  Mahon- 
ing  named  McKinley,  the  Major,  from  the  platform, 
withdrew  his  own  name.  There  was  a  sentiment  for 
McKinley  which  would  not  be  stilled.  King  of 
Muskingum  put  a  motion  to  elect  McKinley  a  dele- 
gate, but  McKinley,  as  chairman,  declared  the 
motion  out  of  order.  General  Grosvenor,  since 
famous  for  his  accurate  figures  of  the  progress  of 
the  McKinley  boom  for  the  Presidency,  put  the 
motion  again  and  held  it  was  carried.  Again  did 
McKinley  rule  it  out  of  order.  His  decision  was 
appealed  from.  He  was  not  sustained,  and  General 
Grosvenor  put  the  motion  still  again  to  elect  Mo- 
Kinley  delegate-at-large,  and  it  was  done.  McKinley 


74  '  McKINLEY  IN"   CONGRESS 

would  not  have  it,  and  again  he  was  overruled,  f  i 
spite  of  his  appeals.  Finally  there  was  a  roll-cail 
and,  McKinley  insisting  that  his  name  be  not  voted 
for,  was  elected.  In  that  Chicago  convention  Mc- 
Kinley made  a  name.  ^  He  assumed  the  duties  of 
leader  of  the  Blaine  men  at  one  time  and  prevented 
an  adjournment  that  was  hostile  to  Blaine  and 
Elaine  was  nominated.  He  wrote  the  platform  that 
year,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions. 
This  was  his  first  leadership  in  national  politics. 
He  had  made  himself  famous  in  that  convention. 


HON.  WM.  McKINLEY'S  FATHER. 


HON.  WM.  McKINLEY'S  MOTHER. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

erperfcmce  M  ft  candidate  for  the  Presidency—  Tryteg  time*  tai 
iHsrsonai  triumph  in  Chicago—  Prosperity  tinder  the  MeKinley 
£ew—  -Gerrymandered  out  oi  Congress—  Ooreraor  at  ObJa 


In  1888  Ohio  went  to  Chicago  solid  for  John 
Sherman.  Difficulties  had  been  patched  up  and 
Ohio  for  the  first  time  in  years  was  unifed.  Two 
Ohio  men  were  particularly  prominent  in  their 
efforts  for  Sherman.  These  were  Foraker  and  Mc- 
Kinley.  Each  was  considered  at  different  times 
during  the  convention  as  a  Presidential  possibility. 
McKinley  was  more  prominent  in  that  connection 
and  ha  there  declined  to  be  presented  as  a  candidate. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  there  were  a  number  of  Presi- 
dential candidates,  including  Sherman,  Harrison, 
Gresham,  Depew,  Allison,  and  Alger.  The  contest 
was  rather  prolonged.  There  was  a  strong  senti- 
ment for  Elaine,  but  he  prevented  any  action  on  his 
name  by  a  cablegram  from  Scotland.  During  the 
fight  Ohio  stood  solidly  for  Sherman.  Foraker  was 
chairman  of  the  delegation.  McKinley  was  recog- 
nized as  a  force,  and  "was  roundly  cheered  whenever 
he  came  into  the  hall. 


78  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

As  the  contest  went  on  it  seemed  as  if  a  solution 
would  be  difficult.  The  convention  was  becoming 
weary  of  balloting.  There  was  an  admirable  chance 
for  a  dark  horse.  When  it  came  to  the  sixth  ballot 
some  one  voted  for  the  Major.  The  convention 
cheered.  Then  he  was  given  seventeen  votes  by  a 
State  following.  It  looked  as  if  McKinley  would 
be  the  man.  It  seemed  impossible  to  prevent  it.  It 
was  recognized  that  he  was  able  and  brilliant,  safe 
and  sound  on  all  political  subjects.  His  labor  for 
Sherman,  his  pleas  for  the  Ohio  Senator  as  he  went 
from  delegation  to  delegation,  had  won  him  support 
for  himself. 

It  was  a  most  trying  time  for  the  Ohio  protection- 
ist. He  was  then  but  forty-five  years  old,  and  seemed 
younger,  as  with  pallid  face  he  stepped  on  a  chair. 
His  frock  coat  was  buttoned  tightly  around  him. 
His  eyes  flashed  forth  the  fire  that  is  so  character- 
istic of  them,  when  he  is  in  earnest.  There  was  a 
stern  look  in  his  face.  The  convention  was  silent. 
The  buzz  had  ceased.  Delegates  and  spectators 
leaned  forward  to  catch  what  he  was  about  to  say. 
There  was  a  feeling  that  he  was  about  to  relinquish 
the  Presidential  prize,  that  he  was  to  sacrifice  ambi- 
tion to  gain  renown  by  faithfulness  to  a  trust.  As 
he  spoke  his  voice  rang  through  the  great  audi- 
torium. There  was  a  defiant  tone  to  it.  It  was 
commanding.  It  was  irresistible.  He  said  : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention : 
I  am  here  as  one  of  the  chosen  representatives  of  my 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    TEAKS  79 

State.  I  am  here  by  resolution  of  the  Republican 
State  Convention,  commanding  me  to  cast  my  vote 
for  John  Sherman  for  President,  and  to  use  every 
worthy  endeavor  to  secure  his  nomination.  I  ac- 
cepted the  trust,  because  my  heart  and  judgment  were 
in  accord  with  the  letter  and  spirit  and  purpose  of 
that  resolution.  It  has  pleased  certain  delegates  to 
cast  their  votes  for  me  for  President.  I  am  not  in- 
sensible to  the  honor  they  would  do  me,  but  in  the 
presence  of  the  duty  resting  upon  me  I  cannot  remain 
silent  with  honor.  I  cannot  consistently  with  the 
wish  of  the  State  whose  credentials  I  bear,  and  which 
has  trusted  me  ;  I  cannot  consistently  with  my  own 
views  of  personal  integrity,  consent,  or  seem  to  con- 
sent, to  permit  my  name  to  be  used  as  a  candidate 
before  this  convention.  I  would  not  respect  myself 
if  I  could  find  it  in  my  heart  to  do  or  to  permit  to 
be  done  that  which  could  even  be  ground  for  any  one 
to  suspect  that  I  wavered  in  my  loyalty  to  Ohio,  or 
my  devotion  to  the  chief  of  her  choice  and  the  chief 
of  mine.  I  do  not  request — I  demand  that  no  dele- 
gate who  would  not  cast  reflection  upon  me  shall 
cast  a  ballot  for  me." 

That  settled  it.  McKinley  had  won.  He  received 
no  more  votes  and  Harrison  was  named  on  the 
seventh  ballot.  An  eye-witness  remembers  going 
into  the  Ohio  headquarters  before  this  incident  had 
occurred.  There  was  talk  of  McKinley  for  Presi- 
dent that  night.  The  Major  was  in  an  inner  room. 
He  looked  tired.  There  were  lines  of  care  on  his 


80  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

face.  It  was  on  the  Sunday  prior  to  the  final  ad- 
journment. Everywhere  outside  there  was  excite- 
ment. Bands  were  playing  and  clubs  marching. 
McKinley  was  outwardly  calm.  It  was  apparent 
that  he  was  bothered  though.  He  talked  for  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes,  when  it  was  suggested  that  he  might 
be  nominated,  and  said :  "  No,  that  will  not  happen 
here.  I  came  here  for  John  Sherman,  I  shall  stand 
by  him  until  he  is  nominated  or  defeated,  but  I  shall 
not  be  named."  It  was  on  that  night  that  he 
visited  the  New  Jersey  delegation.  He  had  heard 
that  the  New  Jersey  delegation  proposed  to  vote  for 
him.  He  intended  to  prevent  it,  and  made  a  stir- 
ring appeal  to  the  chairman  of  that  delegation. 
The  Major  spoke  with  suppressed  feeling  until  he 
said  in  finishing  :  "  Rather  than  that  I  would  suffer 
the  loss  of  that  good  right  arm.  Yes,  I  would  suffer 
death.  To  accept  a  nomination,  if  one  were  possi- 
ble, under  these  circumstances,  would  inevitably 
lead  to  my  defeat,  and  it  ought  to  lead  to  my 
defeat."  The  last  words  sounded  like  a  clarion. 
Then  the  Major  asked  the  New  Jersey  delegation  to 
vote  for  Sherman. 

THE   McKINLEY   BILL. 

Major  McKinley  took  an  especially  prominent 
part  in  opposing  the  Mills  bill  when  it  was  consid- 
ered during  the  Fiftieth  Congress.  This  was  an 
ultra  free- trade  bill.  There  was  no  horizontal  re- 
duction about  it.  It  was  plain  free  trade.  Mills 


McKIXLEY'8  ACTIVE    YEABS  81 

came  from  Texas,  a  State  without  industries.  He 
cared  little  for  the  industrial  communities.  He  was 
a  theorist,  and  a  more  rabid  free-trader  than  Profes- 
sor Wilson.  The  fight  in  the  House  lasted  for  a  long 
time.  Carlisle  was  Speaker,  and  naturally  friendly 
to  the  bill.  Randall  was  opposing  it.  McKin- 
ley  was,  too.  As  a  member  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  he  showed  up  its  fallacies,  its  menace  to 
the  country.  He  could  not  defeat  it,  because  the 
Democrats  were  in  the  majority,  but,  nevertheless, 
he  made  many  telling  points.  It  was  a  great  fight. 
Randall  was  his  friend.  They  had  been  drawn  to- 
gether by  a  community  of  interests,  for  each  was  a 
protectionist.  One  was  trying  to  prevent  his  party 
from  taking  the  wrong  road,  while  the  other  was 
leading  his  in  the  right  direction. 

McKinley,  during  that  fight,  displayed  better 
than  ever  his  wonderful  ability  as  a  debater,  and 
many  is  the  Democrat  whom  he  disturbed  by  his 
arguments  for  protection.  Mr.  Randall  was  closing 
the  general  debate  on  the  bill  the  last  day  before  the 
debate  under  the  five-minute  rule.  Major  McKin- 
ley  was  to  follow  him.  Randall  had  not  finished  his 
speech  when  his  time  was  up.  His  friends  asked 
for  an  extension  of  time,  but  Colonel  Mills  objected. 
He  feared  the  piercing  arguments  of  his  colleague. 
Here  it  was  that  McKinley  showed  his  characteristic 
courtesy.  He  arose  and  yielded  his  time  to  the  able 
Democratic  protectionist. 

The  November  elections  of  1888  had  given  the 


82  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEABS 

Republicans  a  majority  in  the  House.  The  free- 
trade  folly  of  the  Democracy  had  beaten  it.  Mr. 
Reed  and  Major  McKinley  were  among  the  candi- 
dates for  Speaker.  After  a  hot  fight  Mr.  Reed  won, 
and  appointed  Major  McKinley  as  chairman  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee,  thus  making  him 
leader  of  the  House.  Judge  Kelley  had  died,  and 
it  was  but  natural  that  McKinley,  the  great  protec- 
tionist, should  have  been  made  chairman  of  that 
important  committee.  During  the  twelve  years  of 
his  congressional  life  he  had  been  preparing  for 
the  opportunity.  He  had  mastered  the  tariff,  and 
was  ready  for  the  work  before  him.  The  Act  of 
1883  was  producing  too  much  revenue.  The  changes 
of  conditions  since  its  passage  had  made  it  necessary 
to  revise  it.  It  was  to  be  revised  by  hands  friendly 
to  protection.  Major  McKinley  was  the  man  to 
direct  the  work.  The  object  was  to  reduce  revenue 
and  to  equalize  duties  where  necessary,  to  adjust 
them  to  the  prevailing  conditions,  to  afford  protec- 
tion to  American  industries  and  farmers. 

For  this  work  Major  McKinley  gave  his  time.  He 
labored  early  and  late.  The  committee  gave  hear- 
ings and  worked  incessantly.  Major  McKinley  did 
not  permit  his  daily  work  at  the  capitol  to  end  that  on 
the  tariff.  He  was  busy  until  midnight  and  later 
in  his  office  at  the  Ebbitt  House,  studying  the  question 
more  thoroughly,  listening  to  arguments  in  favor  of 
certain  duties,  laying  out  the  plans  of  the  tariff.  It 
was  a  herculean  task.  He  never  swerved.  His  good 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS  83 

health  and  regular  habits  gave  him  the  strength  to 
perform  the  almost  impossible  work.  Under  his 
direction  no  interest  was  permitted  to  be  injured. 
No  duties  were  fixed  without  every  condition  that 
surrounded  them  had  been  considered.  The  work 
was  thorough.  It  was  honest.  The  result  of  this 
continuous  application  by  Major  McKinley  and  the 
other  members  of  the  committee  was  that  the  bill, 
when  finished,  was  the  best,  the  most  complete  bill 
ever  produced. 

The  committee  was  even  more  thorough  in  its  work 
than  the  tariff  commission  had  been.  Possibly  it 
may  be  well  to  explain  that  Mr.  Cleveland  had, 
prior  to  the  election  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress,  trans- 
mitted a  free-trade  tariff  measure  to  the  House.  The 
issue  was  accepted  by  the  Republican  leaders,  and  it 
was  thereon  that  General  Harrison  was  elected  Presi-4, 
dent,  along  with  the  Reed-McKinley  Congress. 
The  Republican  party  that  had  been  a  protective 
institution  for  some  time,  but  not  so  much  so  as  the 
President's  message,  defining  as  it  did  the  difference 
between  Republican  and  Democratic  revenue  poli- 
cies, enabled  it  to  become  in  that  campaign.  It  was 
to  keep  the  pledge  made  to  the  people  in  1888,  to  re- 
vise the  tariff  with  friendly  hands,  that  Major  Mc- 
Kinley and  his  committee  set  to  work. 

The  Major,  in  presenting  his  wonderful  bill  to  the 
House,  did  not  feel  compelled  to  discuss  at  length 
the  difference  between  the  economic  policies  of  the 
two  parties.  The  people  understood  them,  and  with 


84 

that  knowledge  had  elected  that  Congress.  The  bill 
reduced  taxation  on  internal  revenue  products  over 
seventy  millions,  and  as  McKinley  said  in  offering 
it  to  the  House  for  its  consideration :  "  The  tariff 
part  of  the  bill  contemplates  and  proposes  a  complete 
revision.  It  not  only  changes  the  rates  of  duty,  but 
modifies  the  general  provisions  of  the  law  relat- 
ing to  the  collection  of  duties.  These  modifications 
have  received  the  approval  of  the  treasury  depart- 
ment." The  administrative  features  of  the  McKinley 
law — there  were  really  two  laws,  the  administrative 
one  being  enacted  in  July,  1890 — was  really  the  joint 
work  of  McKinley  and  Senator  Allison.  Mr.  Alli- 
son had  had  a  bill  on  that  line  passed  in  the  Con- 
gress before,  and  McKinley  took  it  up  and  improved 
on  it.  It  was  so  admirable  in  all  of  its  features  that 
it  was  little  changed  by  the  Democrats  when  they  so 
disastrously  passed  the  sugar-trust-Wilson-Gorman- 
Brice  tariff  bill  in  1894. 

It  is  useless  to  go  into  an  extended  comment  on  the 
tariff  fight.  One  thing  about  the  bill  that  is  worth 
remembering  is,  that  it  recognized  more  fully  than 
had  been  done  before  the  fact  that  wherever  possible, 
specific  duties  are  the  better,  because  they  prevent  un- 
der-valuatious  that  fraudulently  reduce  the  revenues, 
and  thus  at  the  same  time  the  rates  of  duties.  The 
McKinley  bill  also  established  an  industry.  The 
advance  of  the  duty  on  tin  plate  made  it  possible  to 
manufacture  these  plates  in  America.  The  Demo- 
cratic campaign  orators  and  others  deliberately  lied 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEAES  85 

about  this.  The  McKinley  tariff  established  nearly 
two  hundred  mills  for  the  manufacture  of  tin  plate, 
which  had  an  average  of  five  million  boxes  a  year. 
The  American  dinner-pail  and  the  American  can- 
ning factories  were  benefited  by  this  and  would 
have  been  even  more  so  had  it  not  been  for  the 
reduction  of  duty  on  tin  plate  made  in  1894  by 
the  Wiloon  bill.  Yet,  established  as  they  were, 
they  have  struggled  along  somehow  or  other,  though 
there  are  fewer  mills  than  there  would  have  been, 
and  they  are  not  producing  as  much  tin  plate.  That 
was  one  great  result  of  the  McKinley  bill. 

The  Major,  in  the  debate  in  favor  of  the  bill, 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  protective  tariff 
had  never  failed  It  had  aided  in  reducing  a  debt 
of  $2,750,000,000  at  the  close  of  the  war  at  a  rate  of 
sixty-two  millions  each  year,  or  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  thousand  dollars  each  day,  and  made 
the  debt  less  than  one  billion.  It  might  be  men- 
tioned here  that  Grover  Cleveland's  present  adminis- 
tration has  added  $265,315,400  to  the  interest  bear- 
ing debt  since  it  came  into  power,  or  more  than  eighty 
millions  a  year,  and  most  of  this  increase  was  caused 
by  the  Democratic  tariff  bill's  revenue  deficiencies. 

The  McKinley  bill  was  amended  in  the  Senate. 
It  is  the  habit  of  some  people  to  assume  that  the 
Senate  had  more  to  do  with  it  than  Major  McKinley. 
Without  proposing  to  detract  one  whit  from  the 
reputation  of  such  able  men  as  Senators  Allison  and 
Aldrich,  who  have  fought  in  the  Senate  the  battle  of 


86  McKIKLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

protection  for  years,  who  stood  manfully  against  the 
Wilson  bill  and  did  much  to  lessen  its  dangers  to 
industries,  it  may  be  said  that  though  amended  in 
the  Senate  these  amendments  were  in  the  line  of  what 
Major  McKinley  approved,  such  as  were  made  neces- 
sary by  conditions.  The  principle  was  his  and  most 
of  the  schedules.  More  than  three-quarters  of  the 
changes  of  duties  made  by  the  Act  of  1890 — the 
McKinley  bill — were  made  in  the  House.  It  is  not 
worth  while  to  discuss  these  changes  and  the  causes 
of  them.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Major  McKinley  did 
the  greatest  amount  of  work  on  the  tariff  of  1890. 
He  inspired  it,  and  had  it  not  been  for  him  it  might 
not  have  been  enacted.  The  question  is  not  so  much 
one  of  schedules  as  of  principle.  The  purpose  of  the 
McKinley  bill  was  to  produce  protection  and  it  suc- 
ceeded in  that.  For  his  share  of  it  Major  McKinley 
deserves  credit,  and  his  labor  was  the  greatest  of  any 
one  concerned  in  constructing  the  measure.  The 
Republican  party  appreciated  this,  and,  therefore, 
nominated  him  at  St.  Louis. 

The  McKinley  bill  has  been  misrepresented,  ma- 
ligned, misconstrued,  vilified,  and  all  needlessly. 
The  Democrats  were  intent  upon  their  policy  of  free 
trade  and  started  an  agitation  that  resulted  in  the 
passage  of  the  sugar  trust  tariff.  The  people  now 
understand  the  differences  between  McKinley  protec- 
tion and  Wilson  free  trade.  There  is  no  object  lesson 
needed.  The  people  have  it  now.  Protection  and  its 
importance  and  necessity  is  understood  thoroughly. 


McKIX  LEY'S    ACTIVE    YEAKS  87 

Besides  establishing  the  tin-plate  industry  the 
McKinley  bill  made  sugar  free,  and  the  workman 
and  manufacturer  got  his  sugar  twenty  pounds  for 
the  dollar  as  a  result.  That  was  a  great  boon,  the 
greatest  possible.  The  Wilson  bill  places  a  duty  on 
it  at  the  dictation  of  the  sugar  trust.  That  is  a  con- 
tr;;<t  between  the  two  parties.  Never  did  the  coun- 
try see  better  times,  never  were  more  men  employed, 
never  were  people  happier  than  under  the  McKinley 
bill,  before  a  Democratic  Congress  and  President  had 
been  elected  to  produce  panic,  depression,  and  disas- 
ter. Mills  were  running,  everybody  was  employed, 
business  brisk.  It  is  needless  to  do  more  than  men- 
tion this,  because  the  past  three  years  have  showed 
the  people  the  truth. 

In  Patchogue,  New  York,  is  a  lace  curtain  factory 
which  was  established  through  protection — McKin- 
leyism.  Plushes  are  also  now  manufactured  here,  a 
great  factory  having  moved  from  Huddersfield  for 
that  purpose.  It  brought  capital  and  gave  employ- 
ment to  labor.  Instead  of  sending  our  money 
abroad  for  plushes,  we  buy  them  here  ;  the  wages  of 
the  workmen  who  make  them  are  paid  here.  Then 
pearl  buttons  are  now  made  here  and  they  were  not 
before,  but  why  continue  this  argument  for  protec- 
tion ?  It  is  not  needed. 

In  dealing  with  the  McKinley  bill  it  is  perhaps 
worth  while  to  explain  the  reciprocity  features.  It 
has  often  been  agreed  that  he  and  Mr.  Elaine  were 
not  in  accord  on  that,  that  McKinley  was  compelled 


88  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

to  yield  to  the  forcefulness  of  Elaine.  Major  Mc- 
Kinley never  opposed  it.  He  never  sought  to  take 
from  Mr.  Elaine  the  credit  for  reciprocity.  He  lias 
always  admitted  its  importance  and  the  advantages 
that  accrued  from  it.  Perhaps  there  can  be  no  better 
way  to  describe  the  matter  than  by  quoting  from  an 
intimate  friend  of  ex-Secretary  Elaine.  The  gentle- 
man referred  to  is  William  E.  Curtis,  formerly  Secre- 
tary of  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics,  and  at 
present  the  Washington  correspondent  of  the  Chi- 
cago Record.  Mr.  Curtis  is  a  man  of  marked  ability 
and  high  character.  On  August  19th,  1891,  he  was 
interviewed  by  a  reporter  of  the  Massillon,  O.,  Inde- 
pendent. Mr.  Curtis  said  that  Mr.  Elaine  opposed 
any  disturbance  of  the  duties  on  South  American 
products.  To  this  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
did  not  agree.  Then  Mr.  Curtis  proceeded  to  say : 

"  When  Mr.  Elaine  found  that  it  was  proposed  to 
remove  the  duty  on  sugar  he  sent  me  to  Mr.  McKin- 
ley  with  a  proposition  which  he  wanted  added  to  the 
bill  as  an  amendment."  It  afterward  became  known 
as  the  Hale  amendment.  It  provided  that  the  Pres- 
ident should  be  authorized  to  take  off  the  duty  on 
sugar  whenever  the  sugar-producing  nations  removed 
their  duties  on  our  farm  products  and  certain  other 
articles. 

"  Mr.  McKinley  presented  this  amendment  to  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means.  It  was  not  adopted. 
Mr.  McKinley  voted  for  it  the  first  time  it  was  pre- 
sented. Then  a  second  proposition  containing  some 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS  89 

modifications  was  presented,  and  Mr.  McKinley  voted 
for  that,  as  lie  voted  for  the  Blaiue  reciprocity 
amendment  every  time  it  was  submitted  in  whatever 
form. 

"  It  has  been  currently  reported  that  Mr.  Elaine 
denounced  the  McKinley  bill  with  such  vigor  that 
he  smashed  his  hat.  Mr.  Elaine's  opposition  to  the 
bill  was  because  of  the  free  sugar  clause.  He  criti- 
cised the  refusal  of  Congress  to  take  advantage  of 
conditions  which  he  thought  were  favorable  to  our 
trade.  They  proposed  to  throw  away  the  duty  on 
sugar  when  he  wanted  them  to  trade  with  it. 

"  When  what  was  known  as  the  Aldrich  amend- 
ment was  adopted  Mr.  Elaine  was  perfectly  satisfied, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  the  current  tales  that  he  is 
unfriendly  to  Major  McKinley.  On  the  contrary, 
he  is  one  of  his  warmest  friends.  Had  it  not  been 
for  Mr.  McKinley  and  Senator  Aldrich,  of  Rhode 
Island,  the  reciprocity  clause  in  the  Tariff  Act  would 
never  have  been  adopted." 


DEFEATED   FOR   CONGRESS;    ELECTED   GOVERNOR. 

The  McKinley  bill*  became  a  law  on  October  1st, 
1890.  The  Republican  party  was  immediately 
rushed  into  a  hot  campaign.  The  measure  they 
supported  had  not  yet  been  fully  understood,  had  not 
had  a  chance  to  demonstrate  its  advantages.  The 
election  of  1890  was  disastrous  for  the  party  and 
many  men  fell,  the  Democrats  securing  an  imprece- 


90  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEAKS 

dented  majority  in  Congress.  McKinley  was  one 
of  those  marked  for  slaughter.  He  had  to  contend 
against  peculiar  disadvantages.  His  district  had 
been  gerrymandered  by  the  Legislature  of  Ohio, 
which  was  Democratic.  Stark  County,  in  which 
the  Major  lived,  was  placed  in  a  district  with  three 
counties,  Holmes,  Wayne,  and  Medina,  which  the 
year  before  had  given  James  E.  Campbell  a  majority 
of  3,900.  His  own  county  was  close,  often  Demo- 
cratic, so  Major  McKinley  had  a  hard  fight  before 
him.  Nothing  daunted  he  made  it,  appreciating 
that  defeat  was  not  unlikely.  In  truth  the  Legisla- 
ture had  singled  him  out  for  retirement.  His  oppo- 
nent was  ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Warwick,  a  man 
of  no  force,  but  personally  popular.  It  was  a  des- 
perate fight.  McKinley  was  everywhere,  address- 
ing people  peculiarly  strange  to  him.  He  knew 
how  hard  his  path  was,  but  he  did  not  hesitate. 

It  was  really  one  of  the  most  notable  contests  in 
recent  years.  The  power  and  force  of  the  national 
Democracy  was  centered  against  him.  Able  speakers 
came  to  oppose  him.  The  adroit  David  B.  Hill,  of 
New  York,  spent  a  week  in .  the  district.  Mills  was 
there  and  there  were  others.  One  county  was  very 
benighted.  It  has  the  reputation  of  having  less 
education  to  the  square  inch  than  any  other  county 
in  Ohio.  It  is  very  strongly  Democratic,  the  major- 
ity often  reaching  2,500.  There  McKinley  met  his 
worst  enemy.  Peddlers  had  been  employed  at  so 
much  per  day  to  go  through  the  country  selling  tin- 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS  91 

cups  at  extravagant  prices.  The  people  of  the  county 
were  amazed.  They  asked  the  reason  why.  The 
answer  was  that  the  McKinley  bill  had  done  it. 
Democratic  shopkeepers  were  employed  to  ask  addi- 
tional prices  for  their  goods,  and  it  was  the  same 
answer,  "  The  McKinley  bill  did  it."  Just  to  think 
of  it,  tin-cups,  such  as  are  ordinarily  used  for  drink- 
ing purposes,  were  retailed  at  a  dollar  apiece !  It  was 
an  awful  lie  to  overcome. 

McKinley  was  defeated,  but  by  303  votes  only. 
He  polled  two  and  a  half  thousand  more  votes  in  the 
district  than  General  Harrison  had  two  years  before. 
It  was  a  beggarly  victory,  indeed.  It  retired  Major 
McKinley  from  Congress,  but  it  made  him  his  party's 
candidate  for  Governor  the  following  year.  The 
people  of  Ohio  demanded  it.  The  Republican  leaders 
of  the  State  saw  that  it  was  the  thing  to  do.  The 
vast  majority  of  the  party  workers  insisted  upon  his 
nomination.  Major  McKinley  was  living  in  Canton 
after  the  end  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress.  He  was 
approached  and  said  he  would  not  decline  a  nomina- 
tion. 

The  convention  that  nominated  him  was  a  mag- 
nificent one.  It  was  composed  of  the  representative 
men  of  the  party.  Ex-Governor  Foraker  moved 
the  nomination  of  the  Major  and  ex-Governor  Fos- 
ter moved  to  make  it  unanimous.  The  writer  was 
present  as  a  delegate  and  reporter.  The  scene  when 
the  Major  came  to  the  platform  to  accept  the  nomi- 
nation is  almost  indescribable.  The  delegates  would 


93  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

not  permit  him  to  speak  for  some  moments,  they 
cheered  so  loudly.  They  were  enthusiastic.  The 
convention  felt  that  victory  was  certain.  They  were 
to  a  man  for  McKinley.  There  was  no  ill-feeling 
beneath  the  surface.  It  was  as  harmonious  a  con- 
vention as  Ohio  ever  held. 

The  campaign  was  opened  toward  the  last  of 
August,  and  Major  McKinley  made  one  of  his  won- 
derful campaigns.  He  was  in  every  county  battling 
for  protection  and  against  free  silver.  The  Cleve- 
land convention  of  the  Democrats  had  adopted  a 
straightout  free  silver  platform  by  a  majority  of  100. 
Cincinnati  was  opposing  Campbell's  nomination. 
Cincinnati  Democrats  were  for  good  money.  The 
convention  was  piqued  at  the  Hamilton  County  peo- 
ple, and  as  a  matter  of  spite,  so  it  appeared  to  the 
writer,  many  delegates  voted  for  free  silver  because 
Hamilton  County  was  opposed  to  it.  The  silver 
sentiment  was  strong  in  the  Democratic  ranks,  but 
there  was  a  possibility  that  it  might  have  been  over- 
come had  Hamilton  County  not  been  in  bad  odor. 
The  campaign  was  an  exciting  one.  The  Democrats 
had  carried  the  State  against  Foraker  two  years  be- 
fore, and  they  were  determined  to  do  so  this  time. 
They  were  unsuccessful,  for  McKinley  was  elected 
by  more  than  21,000  plurality. 

McKinley  was  the  nominee  of  his  party  in  1893. 
That  renomination  also  was  unanimous.  The  Demo- 
cratic opponent  was  Lawrence  T.  Neal,  a  rabid  free- 
trader. He  made  a  close  campaign,  but  was  beaten 


FIEST  M.  E.  CHURCH  AT  CANTON, 
Where  Hon.  Win.  McKinley  Attendi. 


McKIXLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS  95 

from  the  beginning.  The  writer  accompanied  Major 
McKinley  during  that  campaign,  traveling  with  him 
into  every  county  but  six.  The  people  arose  en  masse 
everywhere  to  see  him.  It  was  a  triumphal  journey 
throughout.  Every  hall  where  a  meeting  was  held 
was  overcrowded.  It  was  often  almost  impossible  to 
enter.  Many  open-air  meetings  were  held,  and  greater 
crowds  never  heard  a  speaker  in  Ohio.  The  Gov- 
ernor never  was  in  better  form.  He  stood  the  trials 
of  the  campaign  sturdily,  wearing  out  some  of  those 
who  were  with  him.  He  never  seemed  to  mind 
fatigue.  It  was  a  hard  campaign  for  the  newspaper 
men.  There  were  so  many  things  to  be  said  of  the 
meetings,  so  many  speeches  by  the  Governor  to  be 
reported.  The  election  was  a  greater  triumph  than 
the  one  two  years  before.  McKinley  received  a  plu- 
rality of  80,995. 

At  the  Minneapolis  convention  that  nominated 
Harrison,  McKinley  was  permanent  chairman. 
There  was  an  undercurrent  in  favor  of  his  nomina- 
tion. He  had  gone  as  a  Harrison  delegate,  and  he 
fought  against  the  sentiment  in  his  own  favor.  It 
was  hard  to  keep  down.  Even  his  own  State  was 
permeated  with  it.  His  best  friends  would  not 
listen  to  his  pleas  to  them  to  let  him  alone.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  there  was  only  one  ballot  for 
the  Presidency.  Before  Ohio  had  been  reached 
seventy-four  votes  had  been  cast  for  McKinley.  His 
protests  had  been  unavailing.  There  was  a  hush  in 
the  convention  as  Ohio  was  called.  Chairman  Nash 


96  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEAKS 

of  the  delegation  arose  and  announced  two  votes  for 
Harrison  and  forty-four  for  McKinley.  The  Gov- 
ernor jumped  from  his  chair  and  challenged  the  vote. 
He  was  told  that  he  had  not  the  right  to  do  so,  since 
his  alternate  was  sitting  there.  Chairman  McKinley 
insisted  that  he  had.  Ex-Governor  Foraker  made  a 
point  of  order  that  McKinley  could  not  challenge 
the  vote,  and  Chairman  McKinley  overruled  it.  He 
demanded  the  calling  of  the  roll  of  Ohio's  delegates. 
It  was  found  that  McKinley  had  forty-five  votes  and 
Harrison  one,  and  the  one  for  Harrison  was  cast  by 
McKinley.  He  had  been  true  to  Harrison,  but  he 
could  not  control  the  sentiment  of  his  State  and  pre- 
vent it  from  standing  by  him.  Once  before  he  had 
prevented  his  nomination  by  fighting  it  himself,  but 
it  was  not  to  be  permitted  again.  The  Governor  at 
that  convention  showed  clearly  his  high  idea  of 
honor.  It  was  natural  for  him  to  do  so. 

William  McKinley  was  a  model  Governor.  When 
he  was  inaugurated,  in  January,  1892,  he  knew  very 
little  of  Ohio  affairs,  except  such  as  he  had  gleaned 
in  his  various  readings.  Of  course  he  knew  the  his- 
tory of  the  Buckeye  State,  was  fully  conversant  with 
its  industries  and  needs,  but  as  to  State  affairs,  those 
with  which  he  would  have  to  deal,  he  was  unin- 
formed. However,  he  went  to  work  to  study  the 
duties  of  his  office  thoroughly.  He  was  a  good  judge 
of  men.  He  made  admirable  appointments  always. 
He  managed  the  institutions  of  the  State  economi- 
cally. He  kept  down  appropriations  wherever 


McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS  97 

possible,  but,  having  no  veto  power,  was  seriously 
handicapped.  However,  his  personal  influence 
tended  to  reduce  the  danger  of  unfortunate  legisla- 
tion. 

The  National  Guard  of  the  State  reached  its  highest 
efficiency  under  his  two  terms.  They  were  in  good 
fighting  trim  and  were  several  times  called  out. 
There  was  a  strike  in  the  coal-mining  regions  of  the 
State.  As  soon  as  it  became  apparent  that  troops 
were  needed  to  preserve  order,  Governor  McKinley 
ordered  them  out.  There  was  no  hesitancy,  no  fear 
of  its  effect  on  his  political  future.  The  Governor 
saw  his  duty  and  did  it.  As  a  result  there  was 
no  bloodshed.  The  troops  behaved  admirably. 
Again,  when  there  had  been  a  horrible  crime  in 
"Washington  Court  House,  and  the  people  of  the 
town  were  about  to  lynch  the  criminal,  Governor 
McKinley  sent  his  troops  there.  They  were  under 
the  command  of  a  Democratic  officer,  Colonel  Coit, 
of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment.  In  the  performance  of 
his  duty  he  ordered  them  to  fire.  Some  were  killed. 
The  Governor  sustained  him,  and  did  what  he  could 
to  see  that  Coit  got  a  fair  trial  when  he  was  arrested 
on  the  charge  of  murder.  And  again  the  Ohio 
troops  prevented  trouble  during  the  A.  R.  U.-Debs 
revolution.  Ohio  has  never  had  a  Governor  who 
preserved  better  order,  who  had  more  courage  in 
handling  the  difficult  questions  that  came  before  him 
than  did  Governor  McKinley.  He  retired  from  the 
governorship  because  he  wanted  to  do  so.  They  do 


98  McKINLEY'S    ACTIVE    YEARS 

not  believe  in  third  terms  in  Ohio,  and  McKinley, 
able  and  admirable  Governor  that  he  was,  wouid  not 
go  counter  to  traditions,  though  he  could  have  had 
the  nomination  and  would  have  been  elected. 


CHAPTER  V. 

McKinley's  career  in  few  words — The  charm  of  his  personal  cbai* 
acter — His  habits  of  labor — Devotion  to  friends  and  family. 

HIS  life  lias  been  of  great  activity  and  suc- 
cess, wrought  by  himself,  advanced  by 
no  influence,  but  earned  by  labor  and 
study,  by  patriotism  and  .statesmanship.  It  is  a 
record  creditable  throughout,  and  in  it  there  is  no 
stain,  no  action  that  needs  to  be  excused,  nothing 
that  must  be  defended,  nothing  that  can  be  assaulted 
—a  manly,  courageous,  laborious,  serious,  earnest, 
thorough,  conscientious  life,  devoted  to  the  service  of 
his  country,  and  beautified  by  a  devotion  to  his  wife 
that  is  as  admirable  as  it  is  exceptional.  Though 
Major  McKinley  fought  and  struggled  for  every  pre- 
ferment he  secured,  there  is  nothing  unusual  in  the 
advance  of  a  young  man  in  America  from  humble 
surroundings  to  leadership — to  the  Presidency.  But 
McKinley's  career  has  been  so  singularly  patriotic, 
so  constantly  opposed,  because  of  the  great  principle 
of  protection  that  he  advocated,  so  serious,  so  clean, 
so  brilliant,  and  so  safe  that  it  is  most  noteworthy. 
The  distinction  just  conferred  on  him  was  earned. 

Major  McKinley's  life  has  not  been  without  its  de- 
feats, its  bitterness  through  misrepresentation,  its 
sorrow  because  of  loss  of  children  and  his  wife's  in- 

validism,   but   a   full   conviction    in   the   propriety, 

as 


100  PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

righteousness,  and  importance  of  the  cause  which  he 
has  largely  represented,  as  well  as  a  courageous  be- 
lief that  the  American  people  would  ultimately  ap- 
prove his  policy  and  appreciate  his  labors,  for  its 
maintenance  has  guided  and  encouraged  him,  and  now 
he  is  about  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  life's  labor  by 
election  to  the  Presidency.  The  first  return  for  his 
self-sacrifice,  for  his  devotion  to  country,  for  his  pa- 
triotism, for  his  integrity,  and  for  his  abilities  comes 
through  the  nomination  just  given  him.  It  was 
a  nomination  made  by  the  people  three  years  ago 
when  it  became  evident  to  all  that  the  election  of 
Grover  Cleveland  was  a  serious  error,  that  the  cry 
of  tariff  reform  was  a  fraud,  that  the  party  which 
desired  to  destroy  protection  was  a  menace.  The 
people,  the  workmen,  the  farmers,  the  merchants, 
the  capitalists — all  joined  together  in  a  demand  that 
he  be  nominated.  Their  earnestness  overcame  the 
claims  of  others,  some  of  them  of  distinguished 
merit.  It  disregarded  the  services  of  several  men  of 
statesmanship  stature  and  it  was  obtained  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  wishes  and  despite  the  interference  of 
some  professional  politicians.  The  people  were  not 
satisfied  until  McKinley  was  nominated.  For  sev- 
eral months  before  the  convention  it  was  apparent 
that  McKinley  would  be  the  candidate,  though  he 
had  competitors  of  the  highest  distinction.  '  Those 
who  in  his  Ohio  campaign  saw  how  the  people 
revered  him,  how  they  longed  for  a  return  to 
his  policy  of  protection,  believed  from  the  time 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  101 

of  these   contests  that  his  nomination  was  inevit- 
able. 

He  is  deserving  of  the  distinction  given  him,  and 
it  is  undoubted  that  he  has  earned  the  advancement, 
indisputable  that  he  is  able,  steadfast,  firm,  manly, 
trustworthy,  safe,  and  able.  The  people  insisted  upon 
his  nomination  and  it  was  made.  It  is  then,  without 
question,  a  popular  choice,  the  selection  by  the  peo- 
ple of  one  of  the  people  to  be  the  people's  President. 
But  two  other  Republican  Presidential  candidates 
were  practically  chosen  before  the  convention  assem- 
bled. These  were  heroes,  and  each  of  them  men  of 
and  from  the  people.  One  was  Abraham  Lincoln, 
who  was  without  real  opposition,  chosen  for  a  sec- 
ond term  by  a  grateful  party  representing  a  brave 
and  patriotic  people,  that  honored  and  revered  the 
man  who  helped  the  country  through  the  dark  and 
sad  and  troublous  days  of  the  war  with  patience,  man- 
liness, and  success.  The  other  was  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
who  was  twice  nominated  with  practical  unanimity. 
Grant  was  a  military  hero,  chosen  because  of  his  ser- 
vices in  the  field,  and  not  at  first  by  reason  of  any 
notable  ability  as  a  statesman.  Each  was  a  hero, 
each  a  patriot,  and  each  in  a  different  way.  William 
McKinley  is  both  soldier  and  statesman.  As  a  boy, 
before  he  had  left  his  teens,  he  was  an  officer,  fighting 
in  the  field,  enduring  privations,  and  risking  his  life 
for  the  nation.  As  a  man,  he  developed  in  intellec- 
tual force,  strengthened  by  experience  and  study,  in- 
spired with  belief  in  the  truth  and  necessity  of  the 


102  PEKSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

p,  !>e  advocated,  and  spurred  on  by  antagonism. 
McKinley  .3  a  patriot.  Lincoln  freed  the  slaves. 
McKinley  will  relieve  the  country  from  free  trade, 
from  poverty,  and  from  depression. 

MCKINLEY'S  PEESONALITY. 

The  world  knows  William  McKinley  as  a  public 
man.  His  individuality  is  not  understood,  though 
here  and  there  glimpses  have  been  had  of  his  person- 
ality, which  have  added  to  the  respect  in  which  he  is 
held.  It  is  not  surprising  that  Major  McKinley  is 
not  so  well  known  as  a  private  citizen,  as  a  neighbor, 
and  friend.  The  public  has  been  more  concerned 
with  what  he  has  accomplished,  with  what  he  repre- 
sents, and  with  what  he  has  opposed.  The  other  side 
has  not  been  brought  out,  except  incidentally. 

There  is  a  warmth  of  feeling,  a  generosity  of  spirit, 
a  sincerity,  a  purity  of  thought,  a  domesticity,  an 
affectionate  disposition,  a  depth  of  character,  a  vein 
of  humor,  a  reserve,  a  patience  under  difficulties,  a 
devotion  to  friends,  a  personal  attractiveness  and  a 
breadth  of  character  that  make  him  admirable  and 
lovable,  that  delights  and  benefits,  that  charms  and 
wins,  that  inspires,  and  never  wearies,  that  pleases 
and  gratifies,  and  that  makes  one  glad  to  see  him, 
sorry  to  leave  him,  charmed  to  know  him,  and  proud 
to  be  his  friend.  There  is  a  magnetism  that  is 
attractive,  a  sunniness  of  disposition  that  is  unex- 
pected at  first,  an  evenness  of  temper  that  is  unusual, 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKIXLEY  103 

a  resignation  that  is  composed,  a  reserve  that  is  not 
often  broken,  but  when  it  is  there  is  a  reward  in 
the  manliness,  charitableness,  friendliness,  affection, 
trustfulness  and  confidence  of  the  man. 

Though  imbued  and  filled  with  the  importance  of 
the  principles  of  the  party  of  which  he  has  so  long 
been  a  leader,  Major  McKinley  is  not  self-centered, 
neither  is  he  selfish,  for  he  often  sacrifices  for  others, 
always  ready  often  to  inconvenience  himself  for  the 
pleasure  or  benefit  of  his  friends.  A  man  who  has 
had  as  much  admiration,  as  much  flattery,  as  much 
success  must  necessarily  understand  that  he  has 
ability,  must  be  confident  of  his  powers,  but  in 
William  McKinley  that  is  not  accompanied  by  con- 
ceit, for  he  is  diffident,  modest  almost  to  bashfulness, 
but  experience  has  made  it  possible  for  him  to  con- 
trol his  tendency  to  seek  obscurity,  to  enjoy  quiet 
instead  of  strife. 

Major  McKinley  did  not  become  a  Presidential  can- 
didate because  he  sought  honors,  neither  did  he  run 
for  Governor  of  Ohio  because  he  desired  the  office.  He 
did  not  try  to  continue  in  Congress  because  he  was 
anxious  to  remain  in  public  life.  There  are  those 
who  may  be  unbelievers  in  this ;  but  he  did  so  be- 
cause he  felt  he  had  a  duty  to  perform,  a  mission 
to  accomplish.  Were  he  to  follow  the  inclinations 
of  his  wife  and  of  himself  he  would  not  be  a  public 
man  now.  He  would  not  be  about  to  go  through  an 
exacting  campaign.  On  the  contrary,  years  ago  he 
would  have  settled  down  to  the  life  of  a  lawyer, 


104  PEKSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

going  his  way  quietly  and  unostentatiously.  His 
entrance  into  public  life  was  almost  a  chance.  That 
naturally  resulted  in  his  continuance  therein.  His 
services  to  the  country  have  been  at  the  sacrifice  of 
money,  for,  as  a  lawyer,  he  could  have  earned,  even 
in  Canton,  far  more  than  he  did  as  Representative 
or  as  Governor. 

For  ten  years,  each  time  Major  McKinley  has  run 
for  office,  he  did  it  in  hesitation,  because  of  the  pro- 
tests of  his  wife.  '  To  her  his  public  career  has  been 
a  sacrifice  for  country.  She  has  felt  that  he  has 
given  far  more  than  he  received.  On  the  day  following 
his  triumphal  re-election  to  the  Governorship  of  Ohio 
by  a  majority  of  nearly  82,000,  Mrs.  McKinley  was 
told  that  her  husband  would  be  the  next  President  of 
the  United  States.  She  shook  her  head  firmly,  and  said 
he  would  not,  that  the  Governorship  was  his  last 
consent  to  stand  for  public  office.  She  meant  that,  but 
she  yielded  to  the  exigencies  of  the  situation,  and  as 
a  good  wife  did  what  she  could  to  aid  him,  preferring 
all  the  while  that  he  should  be  a  private  citizen. 
Naturally  Major  McKinley  is  pleased  and  gratified 
with  his  political  advancement.  He  would  not  be 
human  if  he  were  not,  but  he  looks  at  it  less  as  a 
personal  victory  than  as  the  success  of  a  principle 
which  he  holds  most  dear,  and  believes  must  be  re- 
stored to  the  statute  books,  in  such  form  as  to  suit 
the  existing  conditions. 

There  is  one  characteristic  in  Major  McKinley 
that  the  newspaper  man  does  not  like.  He  refrains 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  105 

from  discussing  questions  for  publication  ;  declines  to 
talk  about  them.  While  he  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  in  the  Fifty-first 
Congress,  when  the  tariff  bill  was  before  his  com- 

O 

mittee  in  process  of  construction,  he  almost  invaria- 
bly declined  to  give  news  of  its  progress.  Possibly 
he  did  not  know  what  news  was.  Certainly  he  would 
never  tell  a  man  about  it.  Skillful  correspondents, 
accustomed  to  deal  with  public  men,  found  difficulty 
in  exacting  information  from  him.  The  better  the 
nqwsman  knew  the  Major  the  less  he  secured,  for  his 
questions  would  be  answered  fully,  but  there  would 
be  an  injunction  of  reserve  that  prevented  any  ad- 
vantage from  being  obtained.  Major  McKinley 
never  sought  newspaper  notoriety.  lie  always 
shrank  from  it. 

William  McKinley  is  naturally  dignified ;  but  he 
himself  is  a  tease,  and  a  persistent  one  if  the  per- 
son made  subject  of  his  humor  is  teasable.  It  is 
not  exactly  mischievousness,  but  a  kindly,  friendly, 
and  harmless  pleasantry,  showing  an  insight  into 
character  that  often  takes  one  by  surprise.  But 
no  one  ever  takes  any  liberties  with  Major  McKin- 
ley. No  one  ever  slapped  him  on  the  back  without 
finding  that  it  was  not  an  agreeab'le  act.  In  fact, 
the  better  one  learns  to  know  Mr.  McKinley  the 
greater  is  the  respect.  There  is  no  familiarity  per- 
mitted, and,  consequently,  no  contempt. 

While  Major  McKinley  does  not  yearn  to  be 
made  the  butt  of  a  joke,  he  has  a  keen  sense  of 


106  PEESONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

humor,  and  can  tell  a  good  story  as  well  as  he  can 
make  a  tariff  speech.  He  is  delighted,  when  there 
are  no  more  serious  matters  to  be  considered,  to  listen 
to  amusing  anecdotes  and  incidents,  and  has  a  hearty 
and  appreciative  laugh.  Nevertheless,  he  does  not 
like  stories  that  rest  for  their  point  upon  some  vul- 
garity. He  never  tells  one  himself,  and  has  always 
avoided  having  to  listen  to  them.  McKinley  is 
never  profane.  He  seldom  gives  expression  to  irri- 
tation, but  calmly  accepts  what  comes,  patiently  over- 
looking faults  and  situations  that  cannot  be  pre- 
vented. Many  a  time,  when  worn  with  prolonged 
campaigning  and  anxious  for  rest,  something  would 
occur  that  was  aggravating,  some  arrangement  would 
not  be  made.  On  one  occasion  he  had  not  received 
his  satchel  containing  a  change  of  linen.  Some  one 
had  blundered.  It  was  a  most  provoking  occur- 
rence. The  Major  inquired  whose  was  the  responsi- 
bility, and  contented  himself  with  repeating  several 
times,  in  a  rather  reflective  way,  "  Well,  that  is  nice." 
Then,  when  the  culprit  appeared  with  the  valise, 
there  was  no  complaint ;  simply  thanks  for  getting  it. 
Major  McKinley  is  always  courtly.  He  is  gracious 
as  well.  He  never  forgets  that  he  is  a  gentleman, 
and  is  as  dignified  and  careful  of  his  words  and 
conduct  when  with  intimate  friends  as  he  is  in  pub- 
lic. He  never  forgets  himself,  never  lounges,  though 
he  will  take  comfortable  positions.  He  is  an  invet- 
erate smoker.  He  likes  strong  cigars  and  enjoys 
them,  and  when  on  a  campaign  his  companions  knew 


PEESONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  107 

where  the  cigar-box  was  in  his  valise,  and  it  was  per- 
mitted for  any  one  to  go  and  help  himself,  and  Major 
McKinley  was  pleased  when  he  discovered  he  had 
been  robbed. 

Major  McKinley  is  always  careful  about  his  dress. 
His  clothes  fit  him  well,  are  well  made,  but  not  ex- 
travagant. They  are  not  such  as  attract  attention. 
He  wears  a  short  frock  coat,  with  trousers  of  the 
same  material.  The  cloth  is  generally  a  black 
diagonal,  though  recently  he  has  taken  to  rougher 
goods,  but  always  black.  A  string  tie  is  around  his 
neck,  and  his  watch  chain  is  pretty,  but  severely 
plain.  He  wears  a  silk  hat  most  of  the  time,  though 
when  traveling  frequently  puts  on  a  slouch  hat,  such 
as  is  generally  styled  a  Fedora.  He  makes  a  point  of 
wearing  cloth  of  American  manufacture,  and  to  assert 
that  anything  he  wore  was  made  abroad  was  to  be 
met  with  an  instant  denial,  and  the  statement  that 
his  tailor  assured  him  that  the  cloth  was  of  Ameri- 
can make,  and  it  always  is  good,  strong,  serviceable 
goods,  that  is  attractive  and  satisfactory. 

Cleanliness  is  one  of  the  traits  of  the  next  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  His  shoes  are  always 
polished  and  his  hands  well  attended  to.  Dirt  seems 
to  be  abhorrent  to  him.  He  shaves  himself,  and  can 
carry  on  a  conversation  while  cutting  off  the  beard, 
and  do  so  admirably,  while  it  is  not  necessary  for 
him.  to  look  into  a  glass  to  see  where  the  razor  goes. 
He  never  cuts  himself,  and  shaves  very  close,  seem- 
ingly dissatisfied  until  he  finds  that  he  can  feel  no 


108 

hair  on  the  face,  after  running  his  hands  over  it 
several  times  in  different  directions.  He  is  smooth- 
shaven  always,  and  the  unbearded  face  serves  to 
bring  out  the  strong  lines,  the  thought-marks  on  the 
forehead  and  around  the  eyes,  while  the  mouth  shows 
firm  lines,  indicating  perseverance  and  definiteness 
of  purpose.  His  jaw  is  rather  square  and  strong. 
The  nose  is  muscular  and  indicative  of  character. 
The  eyes  are  dark  and  sometimes  obscured  by  the 
shagginess  of  his  eyebrows,  but  when  they  are  lifted 
up  they  gleam  underneath  and  fascinate  by  their 
brightness,  seeming  black  when  brightened  by  con- 
versation or  earnestness.  The  Major  wears  his  hair 
rather  long.  It  is  a  dark  brown,  and  of  recent  years 
gray  has  scattered  through.  It  is  a  little  thin  on  the 
temples  and  at  the  top  of  his  head.  It  is  fine  and 
silky  and  full  of  electricity.  The  ears  are  small,  and 
the  teeth  white  and  strong  and  well  cared  for.  His 
is  a  remarkably  refined  face,  showing  great  intel- 
lectual power,  with  a  large  head  to  set  it  off,  and  a 
broad  forehead  that  is  pale,  as  is  the  face,  though 
exposure  gives  a  brownish  color. 

In  stature  Major  McKinley  could  be  classed  as 
medium.  He  stands  perhaps  five  feet  seven  inches, 
just  about  an  inch  'more  than  General  Harrison. 
His  head  is  well  set  on  a  broad,  vigorous,  yet  grace- 
ful pair  of  shoulders.  He  has  a  little  embonpoint, 
which  the  frock  coat  serves  to  hide.  His  legs  are 
stocky,  but  well  turned,  and  the  feet  small.  In 
walking  McKinley  swings  his  shoulders  from  side  to 


PERSOXAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  109 

side  a  little,  goes  with  a  firm  step,  the  stride  being 
long  for  one  of  his  stature.  He  plants  his  foot  firmly 
and  raises  it  from  the  ground  with  a  spring.  His 
gait  is  brisk,  active,  showing  that  he  does  not  waste 
time.  He  is  not  much  at  exercise,  but  often  walks. 
He  prefers  to  ride  where  possible,  and  though  in  his 
youthful  days  considerable  of  an  athlete,  he  prefers 
to  sit  and  enjoy  the  air  outside  rather  than  to  exert 
himself  by  walking.  Major  McKinley  has  a  deep 
chest  and  a  broad  one,  too.  He  has  great  lung  power, 
and  always  breathes  deeply.  If  he  were  measured 
it  would  probably  appear  that  he  has  a  chest  expan- 
sion of  five  or  six  inches  at  least. 

McKinley's  disposition  is  cheerful.  He  never 
permits  small  things  to  worry  him.  Defeat  never 
makes  him  gloomy.  Possibly  he  is  a  fatalist,  but 
he  has  such  confidence  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  principle  of  protection  which  he  represents  that 
he  is  never  discouraged.  Life  is  serious  to  him,  but 
that  does  not  prevent  him  enjoying  it.  He  takes 
it  seriously  and  studiously,  acquiring  information 
constantly,  by  asking  questions  and  studying.  He 
never  stops  a  subject  until  he  knows  it  thoroughly. 
When  he  says  a  thing  is  so,  it  is.  He  resembles 
Senator  Allison  in  that  respect. 

He  is  particularly  charming  to  young  people.  He 
seems  to  understand  them,  and  children  like  him, 
for  he  has  a  way  of  dealing  with  them  that  arouses 
confidence  and  then  regard. 

Possibly  they  appeal  to  him  because  he  lost  his 


110  PEKSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

own.  The  children  of  his  neighbors  in  Canton  are 
his  friends.  For  them  he  has  always  a  cheery 
good  morning  and  a  friendly  word.  Wi$i  the  older 
people  he  is  deferential.  This  is  particularly  notice- 
able in  his  treatment  of  his  mother,  who  is  now 
nearly  eighty-eight.  He  shows  always  the  most 
affectionate  interest  in  her  welfare,  while  she  looks 
at  him  with  eyes  that  are  full  of  pride  and  love. 
The  Governor's  father  died  a  year  ago.  There  was 
a  friendly  familiarity  between  them  that  was  touch- 
ing. There  was  devotion  on  the  son's  part  and 
admiration  from  the  father.  It  is  in  his  -  home  life 
that  McKinley  is  most  lovable.  To  his  wife  he  is 
always  the  lover,  showing  the  delicate  attentions 
that  are  so  pleasing  to  a  woman,  and  particularly  to 
one  whose  health  is  infirm.  There  is  a  tenderness 
in  his  voice  when  he  calls  her  name  that  shows  he 
speaks  from  the  heart.  When  she  praises  him  there 
is  a  deprecating  look,  indicative  of  satisfaction  at  the 
wifely  affection,  but  embarrassment  that  she  should 
show  such  admiration.  Mrs.  McKinley  looks  upon 
her  husband  as  the  incarnation  of  all  virtues.  Her 
love,  after  twenty-five  years  of  married  life,  is  as  of 
the  honeymoon. 

INCIDENT  OP  EARLY   LIFE. 

After  concluding  his  study  of  the  law  with  Judge 
Glidden,  William  McKinley  moved  to  Canton,  where 
he  had  been  preceded  by  his  sister,  Anna,  who  was 
up  to  the  time  of  her  death  the  most  successful  and 


H 

te 

ft 
c 
c 

o: 


ADMIKAL  DEWEY,  HERO  OF  MANILA  BAY. 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  113 

popular  school  teacher  iu  the  public  schools  of  that 
city  of  38,000  people.  Young  McKinley  stuck  a 
shingle  out  from  a  back  room  of  the  then  public 
building,  a  three-story  brick  structure  which  stood 
where  the  court-house  now  stands.  McKinley's 
room  was  to  the  rear  of  the  law  offices  of  Judge 
George  W.  Belden,  who  had  served  many  years  ou 
the  Common  Pleas  and  Circuit  bench,  and  was  a 
leader  in  his  profession  in  Ohio.  One  evening  the 
Judge  was  sick.  He  stepped  back  to  the  office  of 
his  new  young  neighbor  and  asked  him  to  try  a  case 
for  him  the  very  next  morning.  McKinley  said  he 
couldn't.  He  wasn't  able.  He  didn't  know  enough. 
He  was  not  familiar  with  the  law  in  the  case  and 
there  was  no  time  to  look  it  up.  The  Judge  said  he 
himself  was  sick  and  McKiuley  could  try  the  case 
and  must  do  it.  McKinley  sat  up  all  night  studying 
the  law  points  and  the  next  day  argued  the  case  and 
won  it.  As  he  was  finishing  his  argument  he 
noticed  Judge  Belden  step  into  the  court-room  and 
take  a  rear  seat.  There  was  a  twinkle  in  his  eye. 
But  McKinley  did  not  see  him  again  for  a  week. 
Then  the  Judge  stepped  into  his  humble  office.  He 
laid  down  twenty-five  dollars,  saying :  "  Well,  Mac, 
you  won  the  case  ;  I  told  you  you  would." 

"  Yes,  I  won  it,  but  I  don't  want  any  pay  for  it, 
?uid  if  I  did,  I  couldn't  take  this  much." 

"  You  must  take  it,"  replied  the  Judge. 

"  I  couldn't  take  so  much,  Judge,"  responded  the 
young  lawyer.' 


114:  PEKSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKlNLEY 

"  But  that's  all  right,"  rejoined  the  Judge ;  "  I  get 
an  even  one  hundred  dollars  from  it,  and  keep  the 
seventy-five  dollars  for  myself.  And  what  is  more, 
I  want  you  for  a  partner." 

Young  McKinley  relented,  and  Belden  &  Me- 
Kinley  practiced  together  for  several  years,  until 
Judge  Belden  died.  They  were  one  of  the  leading 
law  firms  of  Eastern  Ohio. 

GOVERNOR   McKINLEY'g   MONEY   TROUBLE. 

The  fact  is  familiar  that  Governor  McKinley  had 
the  misfortune  to  indorse  paper  for  a  friend,  and  lost 
so  much  money  that  he  resolved  to  abandon  public 
life  to  earn  the  sum  so  far  as  it  was  over  and  above 
his  means.  The  story  was  told  in  the  New  York 
World,  in  explanation  of  some  abusive  remarks 
touching  McKinley,  in  March  last,  when  it  was  seen 
that  he  was  becoming  very  prominent  in  the  Presi- 
dential contest. 

On  February  17th,  1893,  every  dollar  McKinley 
possessed  was  swept  away,  and  he  was  overwhelmed 
with  an  indebtedness  of  between  $90,000  and 
$100,000.  It  all  came  about  through  the  failure  of 
Robert  L.  Walker,  capitalist,  banker,  manufacturer, 
and  boyhood  companion  of  Governor  McKinley. 

Mr.  Walker  lived  in  Youngstown.  He  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Farmers'  National  Bank,  the  Girard 
Savings  Bank,  a  stamping-mill  company,  a  stove  and 
range  company,  and  interested  in  several  coal  mines 
in  Western  Ohio  and  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  Mr* 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKIXLEY  115 

Walker  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  community,  had 
the  confidence  of  everybody,  and  was  rated  above 
$250,000.  When  young  McKinley  returned  from 
the  war  and  began  the  study  of  law  and  politics, 
Walker  had  helped  him.  When  McKinley  was 
elected  to  Congress  he  found  the  campaign  expenses 
heavy,  and  a  mortgage  which  was  due  on  his  wife's 
property,  forced  him  to  negotiate  a  loan  of  $2,000 
from  Walker. 

This  Major  McKinley  paid  out  of  his  salary  as 
Congressman  within  two  years.  It  is  probable  that 
similar  loans  were  made  and  paid  afterwards.  Mrs. 
McKinley  was  an  invalid,  and  as  Major  McKinley's 
income  was  only  $5,000  and  an  occasional  legal  fee  he 
was  never  able  to  save  anything.  It  was  only  during 
campaigns  that  he  required  these  loans,  and  the 
money  was  expended  in  campaign  assessments. 
When  he  had  won  fame  in  Congress  he  was  no 
longer  assessed  anything,  and  in  the  last  ten  years 
of  his  life  in  Congress  he  was  able  to  accumulate 
$20,000.  It  was  invested  in  securities  and  real 
estate.  These  securities  consisted  of  stock  in 
various  coal  mines  and  undeveloped  coal  fields.  The 
chief  real  estate  item  was  the  modest  home  in  Can- 
ton. Early  in  1893  Mr.  Walker  told  Major  McKin- 
ley that  he  was  hard  pressed  for  ready  money.  He 
asked  the  Governor  to  indorse  his  notes,  which  he 
proposed  to  have  discounted.  Without  investigating 
or  inquiring  into  the  matter  Major  McKinley  in- 
stantly consented.  He  only  knew  that  his  old  friend, 


116  PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

I.:  \ 

the  man  who  stood  by  him  in  early  years,  wanted 
assistance,  and  anything  he  could  do  to  help  him  he 
cheerfully  did.  The  notes  were  made  payable  in 
thirty,  sixty,  and  ninety  days,  and  Major  McKinley 
indorsed,  as  he  supposed,  about  $15,000  worth.  They 
were  discounted  as  Walker  planned  and  Major 
McKinley  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  until  Feb- 
ruary 17th,  1893. 

On  that  date  Youngstown  and  Mahoning  Valley 
was  startled  by  the  assignment  of  Robert  L.  Walker. 
A  judgment  of  $12,000  against  the  Youngstown 
Stamping  Company  caused  the  failure.  The  stove 
company,  the  coal  mines  and  the  other  enterprises 
went  down  the  next  day.  Then  the  banks  which 
held  -the  Walker  paper  began  to  figure.  Major 
McKinley  was  leaving  his  home  to  go  to  the  banquet 
of  the  Ohio  Society  in  New  York  when  he  was  in- 
formed of  the  disaster.  He  cancelled  his  New  York 
engagement  and  took  the  first  train  to  Youngstown. 

There  he  learned  that  instead  of  being  on  the 
Walker  paper  for  $15,000,  his  liability  in  that 
direction  was  nearly  $100,000.  He  could  not  under- 
stand it.  Banks  all  over  the  State  telegraphed  him 
they  had  some  of  the  paper.  He  was  under  the 
impression  the  paper  had  been  discounted  in  but 
three  banks.  He  held  a  conference  with  his  friends. 
He  told  them  he  had  endorsed  a  number  of  notes, 
but  he  understood  that  fully  half  of  them  were 
made  out  to  take  up  notes  which  he  had  first  endorsed 
and  which  had  fallen  due, 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY  117 

A  little  investigation  showed  that  the  old  notes 
were  still  unpaid  and  the  new  notes  had  doubled, 
trebled,  quintupled  the  debt.  The  Walker  liabili- 
ties were  about  $200,000  and  the  assets  not  half  that 


After  the  conference  with  his  Youngstown  friends 
Major  MeKinley  said :  "  I  can  hardly  believe  this, 
but  it  appears  to  be  true.  I  don't  know  what  my 
liabilities  are,  but  whatever  I  owe  shall  be  paid  dol- 
lar for  dollar." 

MeKinley  was  not  interested  in  any  of  Walker's 
business  enterprises.  The  connection  was  simply 
one  of  friendship. 

Mrs.  MeKinley  owned  property  valued  at  $75,000, 
left  her  by  her  father.  On  February  22d  the  Gov- 
ernor and  his  wife  made  an  absolute  and  unqualified 
assignment  of  all  their  property  to  trustees— II.  H. 
Kohlsaat,  of  Chicago  ;  Myron  T.  Herrick,  of  Cleve- 
land, and  Judge  Day,  of  Canton,  Ohio — to  be  turned 
over,  without  preference,  for  the  equal  benefit  of  the 
creditors. 

Friends  urged  Mrs.  MeKinley  to  retain  an  inter- 
est in  her  property,  but  she  refused,  and  executed  a 
deed  to  M.  A.  Hanna,  of  Cleveland.  At  this  time 
Major  MeKinley  said:  "I  did  what  I  could  to  liolp 
a  friend  who  had  befriended  me.  The  result  is 
known.  I  had  no  interest  in  any  of  the  enterprises 
Mr.  Walker  was  carrying.  The  amount  of  my  in- 
dorsements is  in  excess  of  anything  I  dreamed. 
There  is  but  one  thing  for  me  to  do — one  thing  I 


118  PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKlXLEY 

would  do — meet  this  unlooked-for  burden  as  best  I 
can.  I  have  this  day  placed  all  my  property  in  the 
hands  of  trustees,  to  be  used  to  pay  my  debts.  It 
will  be  insufficient,  but  I  will  execute  notes  and  pay 
them  as  fast  as  I  can.  I  shall  retire  from  politics, 
take  up  the  practice  of  law,  and  begin  all  over  again." 

The  news  of  the  disaster,  and  the  stand  taken  by 
McKinley  and  his  wife,  created  a  feeling  of  sympathy 
throughout  the  country.  The  Chicago  Inter-Ocean 
started  a  popular  fund,  and  money  and  offers  of 
assistance  began  to  pour  in. 

McKinley  returned  the  money  to  the  contributors, 
thanking  them  for  their  interest,  but  refused  to  accept 
a  dollar. 

Finally  a  number  of  personal  friends  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, M.  A.  Hanna,  of  Cleveland ;  Philo  Armour, 
Marshal  Field,  and  H.  H.  Kohlsaat,  of  Chicago  ; 
Bellamy  Storer  and  Thomas  McDougall,  of  Cincin- 
nati ;  Myron  T.  Herrick,  of  Cleveland,  and  others, 
decided  to  subscribe  privately  to  a  fund  to  pay  the 
Walker  notes. 

Mr.  Kohlsaat,  who  managed  the  fund,  said  to  The 
World  correspondent:  "One  of  the  chief  reasons 
why  the  subscription  plan  was  adopted  was  because 
a  number  of  subscriptions  were  received  anonymously 
and  could  not  be  returned.  There  were  over  4,000 
subscriptions  sent  in,  and  when  the  last  piece  of  paper 
was  taken  up,  bearing  Major  McKinley's  name,  no 
more  subscriptions  were  received  and  some  were 
returned.  No  list  of  the  subscribers  was  kept,  and 


PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKIXLEY  119 

Governor  McKinley  does  not  know  to  this  day,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  four  or  five  names,  who 
contributed  the  money. 

"  When  Governor  McKinley  saw  the  publication 
of  the  subscription  scheme  he  wrote  me  absolutely 
declining  to  receive  a  dollar.  Mr.  Hanna  and  his 
other  friends  told  him  to  leave  the  matter  alone,  for 
if  his  friends  wished  to  assist  him  they  should  have 
the  privilege." 

Myron  T.  Herrick,  of  Cleveland,  was  treasurer  of 
the  fund  and  took  up  the  paper  as  fast  as  presented. 

Mrs.  McKinley's  property  was  tlien  deeded  back 
to  her.  She  is  worth  to-day  probably  $75,000. 
McKinley  has  his  original  $20,000  and  a  little  more. 
He  saved  nothing,  it  is  said,  during  his  second  term 
as  Governor. 

The  matter  has  been  referred  to  as  showing  a  lack 
of  business  ability  on  the  part  of  Governor  McKinley. 
This  is  hardly  justified.  George  Tod,  whose  busi- 
ness ability  will  not  be  questioned,  says  he  would  have 
endorsed  Robert  Walker's  paper  for  half  a  million 
dollars  the  day  before  his  failure.  Such  being  his 
standing  and  such  the  close  personal  relations  between 
the  two  men  it  is  not  strange  that  McKinley  endorsed 
for  Walker  to  a  large  amount. 

This  is  a  perfectly  straight  story.  Major  McKinley 
and  his  wife  were  good  for  the  money,  and  resolved 
to  pay  all  the  obligations  and  returned  the  first  sub- 
scriptions ;  but  the  final  arrangement  to  take  up  Mc- 
Kinley's paper  as  fast  as  presented  was  so  organized 


120  PERSONAL  SIDE  OF  McKINLEY 

he  was  constrained  to  submit  to  its  execution.  The 
whole  transaction  was  one  of  undue  confidence  in  the 
business  ability,  integrity,  and  standing  of  a  friend, 
and  the  initiation  of  it  was  in  the  payment  of  a  debt 
of  gratitude.  It  is  a  chapter  in  the  career  of  a  man 
who  has  given  his  labor  for  the  general  benefit, 
paying  scant  attention  to  personal  interests ;  and  the 
fact  that  Governor  McKinley  was  saved  for  the  public 
service  is  most  creditable  to  the  gentlemen  who  are 
responsible  for  the  adjustment,  and  the  action  of  the 
Governor  himself  was  in  every  detail  of  his  contact 
with  it  that  of  a  man  of  absolute  probity. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

McKINLEY    NOT   A    MAN    OF   ONE   IDEA. 

His  superior  distinction  as  a  protectionist  has  caused  him  to  be  erro- 
neously accused  of  exclusive  devotion  to  that  subject— The 
great  range  of  his  public  ?i>ceclu's  and  addresses — A  superb 
tribute  from  General  Grosvenor,  giving  a  list  of  subjects. 

THE  reputation  of  Major  McKinley  as  the  fore- 
most champion  of  the  American  system  of 
protection  has  for  some  years  been  familiar 
to  all  civilized  people.  He  represents  the  American 
idea,  and  is  as  prominently  in  the  eye  of  the  public 
in  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Austria  as  in  his 
own  country,  and  is  in  Spain,  Italy,  Sweden,  and 
Russia  a  man  of  mark  in  all  business  communities, 
and  of  immense  conspicuity  in  all  commercial  circles 
and  manufacturing  towns ;  and  so  far  as  the  Asiatics 
are  interested  in  the  affairs  European  and  American, 
they  are  informed  of  McKinley  as  the  man  who 
stands  for  the  principle  that  the  Americans  should 
diversify  their  industries  and  aid  home  markets  with 
home  manufactories,  mingling  producers  and  con- 
sumers on  the  same  soil,  aiding  the  fanners  by  divert- 
ing labor  to  other  occupations  than  agricultural,  and 

121 


122  McKINLEY  NOT   OF  ONE  IDEA 

causing  competition  among  our  own  manufacturers 
in  our  own  markets,  by  protecting  them  from  foreign 
intrusion  upon  conditions  unfavorable  to  our  higher 
and  broader  interests.  There  is  a  curious  bitterness 
of  personal  hostility  abroad  to  Major  McKinley.  In 
some  of  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Germany, 
McKinley  is  regarded  as  a  public  enemy — almost  a 
monster.  American  children  in  German  schools  have 
been  astonished,  offended,  and  mortified  by  these  mani- 
festations of  feeling,  and  of  one  thing  Americans  can 
be  sure,  and  it  is  that  those  who  make  a  virtue  in 
England  or  the  Continental  countries  of  Europe,  of 
being  hostile  to  McKinley,  are  not  animated  by  ap- 
prehensions that  his  policy  is  injurious  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States.  They  hold  that  he  is  disposed 
to  build  up  his  own  country  at  the  expense  of  Europe; 
that  his  statesmanship  is  American,  but  not  cosmo- 
politan, and  that  is  not  an  unreasonable  conclusion. 
It  was  the  earliest  fame  of  McKinley  in  Congress 
and  as  a  Republican  politician  on  the  stump  that  he 
made  his  protection  speeches  intensely  interesting, 
and  that  no  one  else  did  so  with  the  same  certainty 
and  efficacy  ;  and  it  was  out  of  this  that  the  unwar- 
ranted impression  grew  that  the  discussion  of  the 
tariff  was  his  sole  specialty.  In  truth  no  one  had  a 
greater  range  of  subjects.  Born  in  a  manufacturing 
town — in  his  youth  up  to  the  time  he  became  a  boy 
soldier,  seventeen  years  of  age — one  of  those  in- 
tently interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  manufactur- 
ing industries  that  demanded  the  protection  that  was 


McKLVLKV   XOT   OF  ONE  IDEA  123 

declared  in  the  first  law  passed  by  the  American 
Congress,  McKinley  was  a  student  of  this  great 
matter  from  infancy,  and  the  facts  and  sentiments 
of  the  manufacturing  people  were  for  him  in  the  air 
he  breathed  ;  and  lie  saw  and  felt  the  advancing 
importance  of  the  issues  of  protection  because  the 
world  was  at  last  so  small  that  the  nations  over  the 
sea  were  our  neighbors.  Liverpool  was,  in  Henry 
Clay's  time,  further  from  American  ports,  than  Can- 
ton and  Melbourne  now  are,  and  the  manufacturing 
districts  of  England  are  closer  to  us,  in  time  and 
cost  of  transportation,  than  Connecticut  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  War  of  States.  The  same  thing 
may  be  said  of  Germany  and  Massachusetts. 

McKinley  grew  up  with  the  question  and  was  its 
master  long  before  he  was  its  expounder  fronting  the 
world,  and  its  champion  at  home.  He  is  popular 
here  for  the  same  reason  that  he  is  unpopular 
abroad.  His  name  has  swept  the  country  as  a  Presi- 
dential candidate,  because  of  its  unquestionable  and 
unexampled  significance.  The  meaning  of  it  is  plain 
to  the  people,  and  what  it  means  they  want.  He 
has  friends  who  have  been  ardent  and  able  organ- 
izers and  workers — but  they  have  only  handled  the 
material  that  was  abundant  and  seasoned.  The  fire 
was  not  kindled  in  green  wood — with  laborious  pains. 
The  woods  were  ready  to  burn  and  the  wind  was 
fair.  The  people  have  done  this  thing  themselves 
and  they  will  see  it  through.  They  are  dissatisfied 
with  the  free-trade  experiments  of  Mr.  Cleveland. 


124  McKINLEY  NOT   OF  ONE   IDEA 

The  Democratic  threats  to  throw  down  the  defenses 
of  American  industry  were  themselves  disastrous — 
and  the  weariness  of  uncertainty  became  an  intoler- 
able misfortune — and  the  tariff  that  was  neither  for 
protection  nor  revenue  was  a  blow  that  seemed,  under 
the  circumstances,  so  unprincipled  and  wanton,  the 
people  resented  it  as  damaging  without  excuse  and 
insolent  without  provocation.  The  Hon.  Charles  H. 
Grosvenor,  one  of  the  Ohio  men  who  has  served 
long  with  McKinley  in  Congress  and  knew  him 
intimately  in  personal  and  public  life,  has  contrib- 
uted an  excellent  character  sketch  of  his  friend 
notable  for  its  firmness  and  accuracy  of  touch,  and 
breadth  and  clearness  of  view,  and  that  has  been 
exceedingly  serviceable  in  making  known  the  variety 
of  the  political  life  of  the  man  who  has  been  so  heed- 
lessly criticised  as  a  statesman  with  one  idea  and  one 
speech.  General  Grosvenor  says  : 

"  Governor  McKinley  is  a  man  of  most  attractive 
personality.  He  was  born  and  reared  from  child- 
hood to  manhood  among  the  people  of  the  country. 
He  learned  in  the  school  from  which  so  many 
graduates  have  risen  to  distinction  in  the  United 
States — the  school  of  adversity  and  personal  en- 
deavor. 

"He  is  now  fifty-two  years  of  age,  in  the  very 
prime  of  a  splendid  physical  and  mental  manhood. 
He  is  not  only  vigorous  mentally  and  strong  from 
every  possible  standpoint  of  manhood,  but  is  con- 
stantly growing  and  developing,  and  it  may  be  said 


125 

of  him  with  perfect  propriety  that  he  has  never 
occupied  a  position  in  private  or  public  life  where  he 
did  not  fill  to  the  fullest  measure  all  the  expectations 
of  his  friends  and  constituents.  Whether  as  a  soldier 
in  the  field — young,  radiant  with  patriotism,  buoyant 
with  impassion — or  as  a  young  lawyer  entering  upon 
the  noble  profession  of  his  choice,  as  a  Congress- 
man representing  the  great  interests  of  his  district 
and  State,  or  as  the  executive  of  the  great  State  of 
Ohio,  he  has,  under  all  circumstances,  risen  to  the 
full  measure  of  the  opportunity  and  discharged  every 
duty  and  every  trust  with  unwavering  zeal  and  pre- 
eminent success. 

"  He  has  been  an  ardent  student  of  politics.  He 
left  a  prosperous  and  growing  professional  business, 
and  a  flattering  career  just  opening  before  him,  and 
entered  the  field  of  politics — a  young  man  full  of 
enthusiasm  as  a  Republican.  He  has  always  been 
faithful  to  party  duty,  and  while  maintaining  his 
own  integrity  of  conscience,  and  while  criticising 
party  platforms  and  party  movements  at  times,  yet 
no  one  is  truer  to  party  obligation  and  party  fealty 
than  he.  Kindly  considerate  of  his  opponent,  always 
bearing  testimony  of  the  good  faith  of  those  of  other 
political  organizations,  he,  nevertheless,  stands  firmly 
and  vigorously  for  the  tenets  of  his  own  party.  He 
is  a  Republican  from  honest  conviction,  and  does 
battle  for  Republican  organization  and  Republican 
victory  from  a  sense  of  public  duty. 

"  His  intense  Americanism  has  had  mucli  to  do 


126  McKIXLEY  NOT  OF  OXE  IDEA 

beyond  special  matters  of  political  contention.  Be- 
lieving that  this  country  is  and  should  be  for  the 
homes  and  interests  of  the  American  people,  he 
advocates  the  principles  that,  in  his  judgment,  best 
subserve  that  result. 

"  By  intense  Americanism  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  he  confines  the  definition  of  Americanism  to  the 
men  and  principles  exclusively  of  American  birth. 
He  does  now  and  always  has  recognized  this  country 
as  not  only  the  home  of  American-born,  but  also  of 
the  truly  valuable  citizens  of  other  countries  who 
come  here  and  renounce  their  citizenship  and  all 
foreign  powers,  and  fully  assimilate  the  principles 
of  our  government  and  become  loyal  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  industrial  and  faithful  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

"  During  Governor  McKinley's  long  service  in  Con- 
gress he  gave  special  attention  to  the  subject  of  the 
tariff,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  revenue 
legislation  ;  but  it  must  not  be  understood  that  Gov- 
ernor McKinley  is  a  man  of  power  and  a  man  of 
knowledge  upon  a  single  subject.  It  has  been  said 
of  him  incidentally  that  he  is  a  statesman  upon  a 
single  question  and  a  man  of  learning  with  a  single 
idea.  No  greater  error  could  possibly  be  suggested. 

"  Since  the  expiration  of  his  terra  in  Congress  and 
during  his  four  years  in  the  administration  as  Gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  he  has  delivered  addresses  upon  a 
great  variety  of  questions,  and  discussed  a  large 


McKINLEY  NOT  OF   ONE  IDEA  127 

number  of  subjects,  all  outside  of  his  specialty  in 
national  politics.  He  has  made  many  notable 
speeches  upon  questions  wholly  independent  and 
differing  from  mere  political  considerations.  Among 
the  notable  speeches  which  he  made  in  Congress 
other  than  upon  the  tariff  question  were  :  upon  the 
contest  against  Judge  Taylor  in  the  Forty-fourth 
Congress  ;  the  subject  of  free  and  fair  elections  in 
the  same  Congress ;  a  memorial  address  on  the  death 
of  Garfield ;  payment  of  pensions  in  the  Forty- 
ninth  Congress  ;  the  Dependent  Pension  bill  in  the 
same  Congress  ;  the  purchase  of  government  bonds 
in  the  Fiftieth  Congress ;  memorial  address  on  the 
death  of  John  A.  Logan ;  the  question  of  a  quorum 
in  the  Fifty-first  Congress ;  civil  service  reform  in 
the  Fifty-first  Congress ;  the  Direct  Tax  Refunding 
bill ;  the  Hawaiian  Treaty ;  the  Eight-hour  law, 
and  the  Silver  bill.  These  speeches,  which  are  of 
the  highest  order  of  excellence,  covered  a  wide  range 
of  subjects. 

"  Outside  of  Congress  his  speeches  and  public  utter- 
ances have  covered  a  still  wider  range.  Among  those 
that  might  be  noted"  as  of  special  interest  are  his 
address,  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  before  the  Piedmont  Chau- 
tauqua  Association  ;  the  '  American  Volunteer  Sol- 
dier/ Memorial  Day  address,  at  New  York  City ; 
'  Prospect  and  Retrospect/  an  address  to  the  pio- 
neers of  the  Mahoning  Valley;  'The  American 
Farmer/  an  address  before  the  Ohio  State  Grange  ; 
*  Our  Public  Schools/  an  address  at  the  dedication 


128  MeKINLEY  NOT  OF  ONE  IDEA 

of  a  public  school  building ;  *  New  England  and  the 
Future/  an  address  before  the    Pennsylvania  New 

'  »/ 

England  Society ;  '  The  Tribune's  Jubilee,'  an 
address  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of 
the  New  York  Tribune ;  '  Pensions  and  the  Public 
Debt/  a  Memorial  Day  address  at  Canton,  Ohio ; 
*  No  Compromise  with  the  Demagogue/  at  the  Ohio 
Republican  State  Convention  of  1891 ;  a  Fourth  of 
July  address,  at  Woodstock,  Conn.;  'The  American 
Workingman/  a  Labor  Day  address  at  Cincinnati ; 
the  '  State  of  Ohio/  an  address  before  the  Ohio 
State  Republican  League  ;  *  Oberlin  College/  an  ad- 
dress before  the  Cleveland  Alumni ;  '  Issues  make 
Parties/  an  address  to  the  Republican  College 
Clubs  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.;  his  notification  address 
to  Mr.  Harrison  ;  a  Fourth  of  July  oration  at  Lake- 
side ;  '  The  Triumphs  of  Protection/  an  address 
before  the  Chautauqua  Association,  at  Beatrice, 
Neb.;  'An  Auxiliary  to  Religion/  an  address  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
at  Youngstown,  Ohio ;  an  oration  at  the  dedication 
of  the  Ohio  Building  at  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago; 
a  memorial  address  upon  the  life  and  character  of 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes ;  a  speech  at  Minneapolis  upon 
questions  of  national-. import;  an  address  on  Wash- 
ington before  the  Union  League  Club,  of  Chicago, 
February  22d,  1893 ;  an  address  to  the  students  of 
the  Northwestern  University  at  Chicago  on  '  Citizen- 
ship and  Education ;'  'Law,  Labor,  and  Liberty/ 
a  Fourth  of  July  oration  before  the  labor  organiza- 


[•BEE  UNDER  WHICH  SURRENDER  OF  SPANISH  FORCES  AT  SANTIAGO  WAS  MADE, 


MeKINLEY  NOT   OF  ONE  IDEA  131 

tions  of  Chicago;  addresses  before  the  National 
Jewish  Association  at  Cleveland ;  before  the  National 
Saengerfest  at  Cleveland ;  Grant  memorial  address  at 
New  York;  an  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  Grant 
monument  at  Galena,  111. ;  an  address  before  the  Ep- 
worth  League  of  the  United  States  at  Cleveland ;  an 
address  before  the  Christian  Endeavorers  of  the  Bap- 
tist Union,  and  before  the  Christian  Endeavor  Asso- 
ciation of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  at  Colum- 
bus ;  an  address  to  the  Lutheran  Synod  at  Columbus ; 
an  address  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  on  Abraham  Lincoln  ; 
an  address  before  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  on  '  Business  and  Politics ;'  before 
the  State  (Ohio)  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  '  Busi- 
ness and  Citizenship ;'  before  the  German  Veterans 
of  the  United  States,  at  Columbus ;  a  Memorial  Day 
address  at  Indianapolis;  an  address  before  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  at  Pittsburg,  and  most  notably, 
his  splendid  oration  at  the  dedication  of  Chickamauga 
and  Chattanooga  Park,  and  at  the  Atlanta  Exposi- 
tion his  speech  upon  *  Blue  and  Gray/ 

"A  careful  perusal  of  these  speeches,  orations,  and 
addresses  will  show  that  Governor  McKinley,  while 
an  absolute  master  of  all  that  relates  to  the  tariff  and 
all  phases  of  governmental  revenue,  has  yet  distin- 
guished himself  in  these  other  fields  of  oratory  by 
the  same  thoroughness  of  knowledge  and  the  same 
beauty  of  oratorical  effect.  His  oratory  is  of  the 
choicest  character ;  phrases  and  sentences  come  trip- 
ping and  bubbling  forth  from  him  apparently  with- 


13* 

out  preparation,  apparently  without  effort,  forming 
the  most  beautiful  constellations  of  oratorical  effect 
and  oratorical  beauty. 

"  It  is  not  an  exaggerated  statement  to  say  that 
Governor  McKiiiley  has  made  addresses,  orations, 
and  speeches  of  the  very  highest  order,  judged  from 
the  point  of  view  of  oratory  and  of  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  subjects,  upon  a  more  diversified  line 
of  subjects  than  can  be  justly  attributed  to  many 
Americans  of  to-day.  Indeed,  we  are  at  a  loss  to 
recall  at  this  moment  any  one  who  has  exhibited  in 
this  country  a  wider  range  of  subjects  with  a  more 
perfect  handling  of  the  same.  He  has  addressed 
more  people  in  the  United  States  upon  the  various 
topics  upon  which  he  has  spoken  by  far  than  any 
other  living  man,  and  he  has  been  seen  by  a  greater 
number  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  than  any 
other  man  now  living. 

"  He  is  personally  exceedingly  popular  among  the 
masses  of  the  people.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  since  the 
untimely  death  of  James  G.  Elaine  no  American 
citizen  has  drawn  to  public  gatherings  anything  like 
the  number  of  men  that  have  flocked  to  hear  Governor 
McKinley.  In  the  campaign  of  1894  he  traveled  and 
spoke  from  platforms  and  Pullman  cars  in  nearly  all 
the  States  of  the  Nation  where  political  contests  were 
raging,  and  whether  in  the  great  Republican  State  of 
Ohio,  or  in  the  close  and  doubtful  State  of  Missouri, 
or  in  the  great  crowds  which  met  him  in  New  Orleans, 
his  audiences  were  absolutely  unparalleled. 


MeKOLEY  NOT   OF  ONE  IDEA  133 

"  His  nearness  to  the  people,  his  closeness  to  the 
very  sympathies  and  hearts  of  the  masses  of  the 
American  people,  has  not  been  excelled  by  the 
experience  of  any  American  within  the  memory  of 
man.  He  has  had  experience  in  high  executive 
office.  For  four  years  he  has  served  as  Governor 
of  the  great  State  of  Ohio.  During  that  time  many 
events  and  some  serious  disturbances  have  happened 
in  the  State  which  brought  out  his  strong  and  com- 
manding executive  force." 

The  space  at  command  will  not  permit  the  repro- 
duction of  the  great  mass  of  public  utterances  by 
Governor  McKinley,  but  we  propose  to  present 
enough  passages,  selected  with  the  view  of  prefer- 
ring that  which  is  characteristic  and  that  together 
will  testify  the  seriousness  and  searching  studies  with 
which  he  has  made  himself  familiar  with  a  range  of 
topics  equal  in  scope  to  those  that  have  received  the 
attention  of  his  age  and  country,  and  we  devote  the 
chapters  immediately  succeeding  this  to  the  addresses 
in  which  he  has  discussed  affairs  in  his  characteristic 
style,  showing  the  wide  field  of  thought  with  which 
he  is  familiar,  and  in  the  treatment  of  which  he  dis- 
plays the  energy,  sincerity,  and  scholarship  that  he 
devotes  to  the  service  of  the  people. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

HcKINLEY   ON   CIVIC   PATRIOTISM. 

Address  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. — Studying  conditions  of  government— 
Public  opinion  the  basis — Zeal  after  election— The  people's 
business — Duty  of  business  men — Manufacturing  interests — 
Our  best  market — An  extraordinary  spectacle. 

VERY  rarely  has  there  been  a  more  powerful 
statement  of  the  obligations  and  importance 
of  civic  patriotism  than  that  by  Governor 
McKinley,  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  before  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  that  city.     It  is  the  more  forcible 
because  it  is  in  the  simplest  business  language — and 
the  direct  association  of  good  citizenship  with  good 
business  is  remarkable  and  impressive. 

CIVIC  PATRIOTISM. 
GOVERNOR  McKiNLEY  AT  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  FEB.  13TH,  1895. 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OP  THE  CHAMBER 

or  COMMERCE  : 

"  I  cannot  forego  making  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  honor  of  the  invitation  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  the  city  of  Rochester  which  brings 

134 


McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC   PATRIOTISM        135 

me  here  to-night.  It  would  have  been  more  agree- 
able to  me  to  have  been  a  silent  guest  at  your  table, 
freed  from  the  responsibility  of  making  an  address. 

"  These  are  times  when  the  wisest  words  are  wanted 
and  the  careless  should  be  unspoken.  I  wish  more 
than  ever  in  my  life  for  the  power  to  speak  the  words 
which,  at  a  crisis  like  the  present,  are  so  much 
needed.  The  people  throughout  the  country  are  at 
this  moment  giving  more  sober  consideration  to  the 
duties  of  citizenship  than  probably  at  any  previous 
period.  They  are  studying  conditions  in  national, 
State,  and  city  governments.  They  are  reflecting 
upon  their  responsibility  and  power  in  relation  to 
these  conditions,  having  uppermost  in  mind  the  pos- 
sibility to  improve  them. 

"  '  What  can  we  do  to  better  them  ?'  is  the  inquiry 
engaging  every  thoughtful  mind,  and  which  comes 
almost  unbidden  from  every  tongue.  The  power,  as 
well  as  the  responsibility,  the  people  are  beginning 
to  realize,  rests  with  them.  Their  duty  they  want 
to  know,  and  knowing  it,  they  are  ready  to  do  it. 

"  Our  government,  National,  State,  and  Municipal, 
rests  upon  public  opinion.  Public  opinion  creates 
free  governments,  and  upholds  them  for  good  or  for 
ill.  Public  opinion,  however  good,  if  indifferent,  has 
no  vital  force.  When  aroused,  it  may  check  an  evil 
in  public  administration,  but  the  evil  will  resume  its 
sway  the  moment  the  public  sentiment  which  arrested 
it  lapses  into  indifference.  Public  opinion,  to  secure 
real  reforms  and  hold  them,  must  not  be  fitful  and 


136        MeKINL&Y    ON    CIVIC    PATKIOTISM 

spasmodic  ;  it  njust  be  vigorous,  vigilant,  steady,  and 
constant,  and  as  sleepless  in  its  activity  as  the  enemy 
of  right  is  known  always  to  be.  Swift  as  public 
judgment  sometimes  is,  and  justly  is,  in  the  condem- 
nation of  public  officials  and  public  policies,  some- 
thing more  than  this  is  required.  Execution  of  the 
public  will  must  follow  the  public  judgment.  And 
this  is  only  possible  when  the  same  public  is  alert 
and  determined  that  its  judgment  shall  not  be  a  cold 
formality,  but  a  living  fact,  to  be  respected  and  en- 
forced. 

"  Zeal  after  an  election  is  quite  as  essential  as  before. 
The  cause  which  was  successful  at  the  polls  demands 
constant  zeal  for  its  practical  realization.  The  best 
agents  of  the  popular  will  are  made  better  by  the  in- 
cessant watchfulness  of  their  principals.  Not  watch- 
fulness alone,  but  support,  reinforcement,  and  en- 
couragement are  necessary.  The  battle  is  only  begun 
when  the  first  line  of  intrenchments  is  taken.  The 
army  is  quite  as  necessary  in  the  engagements  which 
are  to  follow.  The  election  only  determines  public 
policy.  It  has  then  to  be  carried  out.  It  requires 
the  people  co-operating  continuously  with  the  public 
officers  to  put  into  the  forms  of  law  and  administra- 
tion their  declared  purpose.  The  election  settles 
much  or  little  dependent  upon  how  the  election  de- 
crees are  interpreted  and  executed.  The  election 
only  declares  the  people's  purpose.  After  this 
must  come  the  fulfillment,  for  the  promises  of  the 
election  should  always  be  sacredly  kept.  Here  comes 


McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        137 

'  the  tug  of  war.'  Then  is  not  the  time  for  relaxa- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  citizen,  but  for  renewed  and 
redoubled  effort  and  vigilance.  If  then  the  people 
become  iudiifereut,  you  may  be  sure  the  public  officer, 
however  strong  and  true  and  well  meaning,  will  be 
inadequate  for  the  task.  The  official  is  quick  to 
catch  the  spirit  of  the  people. 

"  Lincoln  said,  as  he  journeyed  to  Washington  in 
1861,  in  response  to  the  address  of  welcome  by  Gov- 
ernor Morton,  of  Indiana,  at  the  city  of  Indianapolis : 

" '  In  all  the  trying  places  in  which  I  may  be 
placed,  and  doubtless  I  will  be  placed  in  many  such, 
my  reliance  will  be  upon  you,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  and  I  wish  you  to  remember  now  and 
forever  that  it  is  your  business,  not  mine  alone.' 

"  No  truth  was  ever  more  manifest  or  more  sig- 
nificant, then  and  now,  than  that  uttered  by  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

"  Government  of  the  people  is  the  people's  busi- 
ness, and  if  they  neglect  it,  government  and  people 
both  suffer.  The  duty  of  the  citizen  does  not  end 
when  the  polls  are  closed  on  election  day.  He  has. 
by  the  act  of  voting,  performed  an  important  duty, 
bat  the  3G4  days  of  the  year  remaining  each  has  its 
own  distinct  duty,  sometimes  quite  as  important  as 
the  one  on  election  dav. 

v 

"Interest  in  public  affairs,  National,  State,  and 
city,  should  be  ever  present  and  active,  and  not 
abated  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  No  Ameri- 
can citizen  is  too  groat  and  none  too  humble  to  be 


138        McKINLEY    ON   CIVIC    PATRIOTISM 

exempt  from  any  civic  duty,  however  subordinate. 
Every  public  duty  is  honorable. 

"  If  the  best  citizens  will  not  unite  to  serve  the 
State  or  city,  the  worst  may  and  generally  will  be 
in  control.  There  is  in  every  State  and  city  a 
majority  in  favor  of  the  best  government,  and  when 
they  fail  to  secure  it,  it  is  because  the  majority  is 
indifferent  and  without  unity  of  purpose  and  action. 
Business  men  cannot,  with  safety,  stand  aloof  from 
political  duties.  Their  success  or  failure  in  their 
own  enterprises  is  often  involved  in  good  or  bad 
government.  The  great  danger  to  the  country  is 
indifferentism. 

"  This  menace  often  comes  from  the  busy  man  or 
man  of  business,  and  sometimes  from  those  possess- 
ing the  most  leisure  or  learning.  I  have  known  men 
engaged  in  great  commercial  enterprises  to  leave 
home  on  the  eve  of  an  election,  and  then  complain  of 
the  result,  when  their  presence  and  the  good  influence 
they  might  properly  have  exerted  would  have  secured 
a  different  and  better  result.  They  run  away  from 
one  of  the  most  sacred  obligations  in  a  government 
like  ours,  and  confide  to  those  with  less  interest 
involved  and  less  responsibility  to  the  community, 
the  duty  which  should  be  shared  by  them.  What 
we  need  is  a  revival  of  the  true  spirit  of  popular 
government,  the  true  American  spirit  where  all — not 
the  few — participate  actively  in  government.  We 
need  a  new  baptism  of  patriotism ;  and  suppressing 
for  the  time  our  several  religious  views  upon  the 


McKIXLEY    OX   CIVIC   PATEIOTISM        139 

subject,  I  think  we  will  all  agree  that  the  baptism 
should  be  by  immersion.  There  cannot  be  too  much 
patriotism.  It  banishes  distrust  and  treason,  and 
anarchy  flees  before  it.  It  is  a  sentiment  which 
enriches  our  individual  and  National  life.  It  is  the 
firmament  of  our  power,  the  security  of  the  Republic, 
the  bulwark  of  our  liberties.  It  makes  better  citizens, 
better  cities,  a  better  country,  and  a  better  civilization. 
"  The  business  life  of  the  country  is  so  closely  con- 
nected with  its  political  life  that  the  one  is  much 
influenced  by  the  other.  Good  politics  is  good 
business.  Mere  partisanship  no  longer  controls  the 
citizen  and  country.  Men  who  think  alike,  although 
heretofore  acting  jealously  apart,  are  now  acting 
together,  and  no  longer  permit  former  party  associ- 
ations to  keep  them  from  co-operating  for  the  public 
good.  They  are  more  and  more  growing  into  the 
habit  of  doing  in  politics  what  they  do  in  business. 
Strong  as  the  party  tie  may  be,  it  is  not  so  strong 
as  the  business  tie.  Men  would  rather  break  with 
their  party  than  break  up  their  business.  They 
prefer  individual  and  National  prosperity  to  party 
supremacy,  and  a  clean  public  service  to  party 
spoils.  The  business  man  cannot  stand  aloof  from 
public  affairs  without  prejudice  to  his  own  business 
and  without  neglecting  the  grave  duties  which  he 
owes  the  State.  Wholesome  political  activity  in  the 
business  world  is  promotive  of  the  general  good. 
Interest  in  public  affairs  by  spurts  is  probably  better 
than  no  interest  at  all,  but  the  steady,  uninterrupted, 


140        McKIKLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATKIOTISM 

every-day  interest  is  the  crying  need  of  the  hour 
and  the  only  path  of  safety.  The  best  results  in  free 
government  can  be  had  in  no  other  way. 

"  You  cannot  hope  to  improve  public  affairs  by 
withholding  your  own  good  offices.  If  you  would 
clear  and  purify  the  atmosphere  of  our  political  life, 
you  must  lend  your  own  energy  and  virtue  and 
intelligence  and  honesty  to  do  it. 

"  The  business  men  of  the  country  have  devolving 
upon  them  a  grave  responsibility.  It  is  no  easy  task 
to  keep  the  mighty  wheels  of  industry  in  operation. 
Idle  wheels  ineah  idle  men  and  idle  capital.  Both 
draw  upon  their  accumulations,  and  each  is  unprofit- 
able when  the  other  is  unemployed.  Think  of  the 
vast  capital  invested  in  manufactures  in  this  country, 
and  what  skill  and  watchfulness  are  required  to 
keep  it  at  work  !  The  manufactures  of  the  United 
States  in  1890,  engaged  $2,900,735,884  of  capital, 
and  the  value  of  the  output  was  $4,860,286,837. 
The  making  of  these  products  furnished  steady  and 
remunerative  occupation  to  2,251,134  persons ;  and 
the  stupendous  sum  of  $1,221,170,454  poured  into 
the  then  happy  and  prosperous  homes  of  the  Ameri- 
can workingmen — nearly  four  millions  of  dollars 
for  each  working-day,  and  nearly  one-half  million 
dollars  for  every  working-hour  of  every  working-day 
of  the  year  1890.  Our  manufactures  have  made 
steady  advance  from  1865  to  1892 ;  nearly  one  million 
more  persons  were  employed  in  the  year  1890  than 
in  1880,  and  more  were  employed  in  1892  than  had 


MeKIXLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM         141 

ever  been  employed  in  any  previous  year  in  our  his- 
tory, and  more,  it  is  needless  to  say,  than  have  been 
employed  since ;  and  the  wages  paid  in  1890  were 
more  than  double  the  amount  paid  in  1880.  The 
value  of  our  manufacturing  products  in  1890  was 
more  than  100  per  cent,  greater  than  in  1880.  I  do 
not  think  even  the  business  men  of  this  country  ap- 
preciate— I  am  sure  that  the  people  at  large  do  not 
appreciate — the  full  magnitude  of  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  the  United  States,  and  the  wealth  which 
agriculture  and  manufactures  and  labor  working 
together  have  made  for  the  Republic.  Our  wealth 
in  1890  was  $61,469,000,000.  In  1880  it  was 
$43,642,000,000.  From  1870  to  1890  it  increased 
$31,391,000,000,  or  almost  twice  the  entire  wealth 
of  the  Empire  of  Russia.  Take  Great  Britain,  the 
richest  nation  in  the  old  world,  with  the  accumula- 
tions of  centuries,  and  our  wealth  exceeds  her's  in 
1880  by  $276,000,000. 

"  In  1880  our  wealth  was  23.93  per  cent,  of  the 
wealth  of  all  Europe.  Our  earnings  were  28.01  per 
cent,  of  those  of  Europe,  and  our  increase  of  wealth 
was  49.28  per  cent,  of  European  increase.  From 
1870  to  1880  the  per  capita  of  wealth  of  Europe 
decreased  nearly  3  per  cent.,  while  in  the  United 
States  there  was  an  increase  of  nearly  39  per  cent. 
The  freight  that  passed  through  the  St.  Mary's 
Falls  Canal  in  1890  exceeded  by  2,257,876  tons 
the  entire  tonnage  of  all  the  nations  which  passed 
through  the  Suez  Canal  in  1889.  Our  home  mar- 


142        McKINLEY   ON   CIVIC    PATRIOTISM 

kets  have  consumed  heretofore  five  times  as  much 
of  our  manufactured  products  as  Great  Britain  ex- 
ported of  hers  to  all  the  markets  of  the  world.  Our 
products  are  carried  to  our  own  people  and  dis- 
tributed among  them  with  greater  facility  and  at 
cheaper  rates,  taking  into  account  distance,  than 
products  are  carried  in  any  other  country  in  the 
world. 

"How  are  we  to  get  back  what  we  have  lost? 
How  is  the  vast  capital  now  invested  in  manufac- 
tures to  be  preserved  and  made  profitable  ?  Only 
by  keeping  it  busy  and  constantly  at  work.  Capital 
scorns  idleness ;  it  loves  work  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  it  loves  gain.  Capital  in  manufactories 
which  are  shut  down  is  not  like  money  on  deposit 
subject  to  call,  or  in  the  'strong  box  hoarded  away, 
which,  while  it  earns  nothing,  keeps  the  principal 
sum  intact  and  unimpaired.  The  closed  mill  depreci- 
ates the  value  of  machinery  and  buildings  and  land 
and  everything  connected  with  it,  and  it  is  ever 
wearing  away  the  capital  invested  in  it.  This  is 
followed  by  impoverishment  to  the  owners,  injury 
to  the  community  in  which  it  is  located,  and  desti- 
tution to  those  who  have  been  employed. 

"  Every  business  man  would,  therefore,  rather  run 
his  factory  than  close  it,  because  he  wants  his  invest- 
ment to  earn  him  something.  When  closed,  his 
capital,  so  far  as  any  immediate  profit  is  to  come,  is 
stopped.  It  is  with  him  a  question  whether  he  can 
run  with  as  little  loss  as  he  can  stop.  If  he  can,  he 


McKIXLEY   Otf    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        143 

will  always  run.  If  he  cannot,  he  is  bound  to  stop. 
He  cannot  run  at  all  if  there  is  no  demand  for  his 
product.  Production  requires  consumption.  Mar- 
kets are  inseparable  from  manufactures.  The  manu- 
facturer must  have  a  market;  he  wants  the  best 
market  if  he  can  get  it,  and  he  has  come  to  learn 
where  it  is  and  how  to  get  it.  He  knows,  as  he 
never  knew  before,  how  he  lost  it,  and  he  knows  how 
to  regain  it.  We  know,  and  we  do  not  know  it  any 
better  than  our  competitors  in  foreign  lands,  that 
the  American  market — our  home  market — is  the 
best  of  all.  We  not  only  want  to  keep  our  home 
market,  but  we  want  a  foreign  market  for  our  sur- 
plus products  of  manufacture  and  agriculture.  We 
do  not  want  it,  however,  at  the  loss  of  our  home 
market.  I  am  sure  we  do  not  want  it  when  it 
shall  involve  the  idleness  and  destitution  and  degra- 
dation of  our  own  labor.  We  want  not  only  to  send 
our  products  abroad,  but  we  want  them  to  go  abroad 
in  our  own  vessels,  sailing  under  our  own  flag.  We 
should  not  depend  upon  our  commercial  rivals  for 
the  means  of  reaching  competitive  markets.  We 
can  well  supply,  and,  for  the  general  good,  furnish 
our  own  transportation  to  foreign  ports  witli  fair 
encouragement,  and  it  should  not  be  withheld, 
Many  markets  of  the  world  are  open  to  us  if  we 
could  reach  them  directly  without  trans-shipment, 
with  our  own  ships. 

"  The  general  situation  of  the  country  demands  of 
the  business   men,  as  well    as   the   masses  of  the 


144          McKINLEY   ON  CIVIC   PATEIOTISM 

people,  the  most  serious  consideration.  We  must 
have  less  partisanship  of  a  certain  kind,  more 
business,  and  a  better  National  spirit.  We  need 
an  aggressive  partisanship  for  country.  There  are 
some  things  upon  which  we  are  all  agreed.  We 
must  have  enough  money  to  run  the  government. 
We  must  not  have  our  credit  tarnished  and  our 
reserve  depleted  because  of  pride  of  opinion,  or  to 
carry  out  some  economic  theory  unsuited  to  our 
conditions,  citizenship,  and  civilization.  The  out- 
flow of  gold  will  not  disturb  us  if  the  inflow  of  gold 
is  large  enough.  The  outgo  is  not  serious  if  the 
income  exceeds  it.  False  theories  should  not  be 
permitted  to  stand  in  the  way  of  cold  facts.  The 
resources  which  have  been  developed,  and  the  wealth 
which  has  been  accumulated  in  the  last  third  of  a 
century  in  the  United  States,  must  not  be  impaired 
or  diminished  or  wasted  by  the  application  of  theo- 
ries of  the  dreamer  or  doctrinaire.  Business  expe- 
rience is  the  best  lamp  to  guide  us  in  the  pathway  of 
progress  and  prosperity. 

"What  a  spectacle  to  behold!  A  government, 
which,  in  thirty-three  years,  has  passed  through  the 
mightiest  war  in  human  history,  which  created  a 
debt  to  save  the  Union ;  that  seemed  most  appall- 
ing at  the  time  which,  since  that  time,  has  paid  off 
more  than  two-thirds  of  that  great  war  debt,  and 
which,  in  the  three  years  preceding  1893,  paid  off 
nearly  $300,000,000  of  it  from  the  income  of  the 
treasury  and  its  surplus,  which  from  1865  has  en- 


McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        U* 

joyed  a  financial  credit  without  a  parallel  in  the 
world's  history,  to-day  is  without  sufficient  money 
from  its  own  receipts  to  pay  the  ordinary  expenses, 
and  with  a  credit,  upon  the  authority  of  the  highest 
officers  of  the  government,  is  threatened  with  im- 
pairment. We  cannot  longer  close  our  eyes  to  the 
situation  which  affects  every  home  and  hearthstone 
and  the  government  itself.  We  cannot  afford  to 
quarrel  over  the  past ;  nor  is  it  profitable  to  indulge 
in  inquiries  as  to  where  the  responsibility  of  the  con- 
dition rests.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  it  is  here 
and  upon  us.  Whatever  differences  we  may  hav« 
had,  we  must  all  agree  now  that  the  situation  is  one 
that  requires  the  highest  sagacity  in  statesmanship, 
and  the  broadest  patriotism  in  citizenship.  Let  us, 
first  of  all,  keep  without  stain  and  above  suspicion 
the  credit  of  our  country,  which  is  too  sacred  ever  to 
be  neglected.  Let  us  provide  somehow,  and  in  some 
sensible,  practical  way,  for  the  collection  of  enough 
money  annually  to  pay  all  our  current  expenses,  in- 
terest on  the  public  debt,  pensions  to  soldiers,  and 
every  other  governmental  obligation.  Until  that  is 
done,  if  we  have  to  borrow  money,  that  should  be 
done,  and  the  sooner  the  better,  but  this  will  be  only 
a  temporary  cure  and  provision.  That  must  be  sup- 
plemented by  legislation  that  will  raise  in  the  taxes 
and  tariffs  a  steady  income,  full  and  ^mple  for  every 
government  need.  The  way  to  stop  loans  is  to  stop 
deficiencies.  The  reserve  is  sure  to  be  drained  if 
you  cut  off  the  supply.  I  agree  with  the  President 


146          McKINLEY   OK  CIVIC   1'ATRIOTISM 

that  a  '  predicament '  confronts  us,  and  I  am  sure 
there  is  wisdom  and  patriotism  ample  in  the  country 
to  relieve  ourselves  from  that '  predicament '  or  any 
other,  and  to  place  us  once  more  at  the  head  of  the 
nations  of  the  world  in  credit,  production,  and  pros- 
perity." 

[AMERICAN  ISRAELITE-JEWISH  ORPHAN  ASYLUM,  JULY  15TH,  1893.] 
EARLY  EDUCATION  AND  THE  JEWISH  RACE. 

"  When  we  get  out  into  the  busy  world  with  its 
duties  and  responsibilities  we  have  little  time  for  the 
acquisition  of  more  than  practical  knowledge. 
,  "  It  is  so  often  a  question  of  mere  sustenance,  with 
little  time  for  earnest  study,  much  less  for  mental 
labor.  And  if  the  opportunities  present  at  an  insti- 
tution of  this  character  are  not  improved  they  are 
lost  to  us  forever.  I  enjoin  upon  you  all  to  make 
the  best  use  of  the  great  opportunities  you  enjoy,  and 
in  after  life  you  will  find  how  much  you  have  gained 
and  how  much  embarrassment  and  blundering  you 
will  save  yourself. 

"  The  young  men  and  young  women  who  succeed 
nowadays  must  succeed  because  of  superior  knowl- 
edge. This  is  an  age  of  exactness.  What  you  know 
you  must  know  well  and  thoroughly,  and  to  reach 
prominence  you  must  know  it  better  than  anybody 
else.  It  will  not  do  to  know  a  thing  half  any  longer. 
You  must  know  it  all,  and  the  man  who  knows  a  few 
things — worthy  things,  I  mean,  in  science  or  art  or 


HON.  JOHN  SHERMAN. 


McKIXLEY    OX-  CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        149 

mechanics  or  business — better  than  those  around  him 
is  the  man  who  will  succeed. 

"  And  the  only  way  to  acquire  knowledge  is  to 
labor.  There  is  no  substitute  for  it.  The  best  time 
to  get  it  is  when  you  are  young.  Proxies  are  not 
recognized,  either  in  the  intellectual  or  business  con- 
flicts of  the  present  day.  To  use  a  homely  but 
expressive  phrase,  *  You  must  hoe  your  own  row.' 

"  Don't  try  to  master  too  many  things.  A  few 
things  of  which  you  are  thoroughly  master  give  you 
better  equipment  for  life's  struggles  than  a  whole 
arsenal  of  half-mastered  and  half-matured  things. 
You  belong  to  a  great  race  and  a  great  age,  and  you 
are  citizens  of  the  greatest  country  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Every  opportunity  is  open  to  you  as  it  is  to 
me,  and  to  every  citizen,  as  they  have  never  been 
opened  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  globe.  Here  is 
absolute  equality  of  opportunity  and  of  advantage, 
and  those  who  can  win  must  do  so  by  force  and  their 
own  merit ;  and  here  what  you  win  you  can  wear. 

The  Jewish  people  have  for  centuries  been  con- 
spicuous in  almost  every  department  of  life.  In 
music  they  have  taken  the  highest  rank  as  com- 
posers and  performers.  Mendelssohn,  Rubenstein, 
and  Joachim  have  few  equals.  As  actors  they  had 
Rachael  and  Bernhardt  and  a  long  list  beside,  who 
have  been  recognized  as  stars  the  world  over. 
Among  the  philosophers  is  to  be  named  the  great 
Spinoza ;  in  medicine,  Franke ;  in  Greek  literature, 
Bernays;  while  Benfrey  was  the  first  of  Sanscrit 


150        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATKIOTISM 

scholars ;  Ricardo,  conspicuous  in  political  economy, 
and  Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  the  great  philanthropist, 
who  died  full  of  honors,  a  century  old,  whose  memory 
is  cherished  the  world  over.  His  intellectual  and 
physical  faculties  were  marvelous.  He  retained  his 
mental  faculties  until  the  last.  After  he  was  eighty 
years  old,  in  the  interest  of  his  race  and  humanity, 
he  made  four  great  journeys ;  two  to  Jerusalem,  one 
to  Roumania,  and  one  to  Russia.  He  was  always 
doing  good. 

"  I  observe  from  your  souvenir  that  here  in  this  in- 
stitution you  sacredly  observe  his  memory.  He  was 
broad-minded,  not  bigoted,  loving  his  race  and  be- 
lieving in  it,  and  yet  helping  Gentile  as  well  as  Jew. 
He  contributed  to  build  Protestant  churches  and 
found  hospitals  for  the  Turk  and  the  Catholic,  and 
assisted  in  every  way  to  the  elevation  of  all  races  and 
all  colors  of  men.  George  Eliot,  writing  a  few  years 
ago  about  the  Jewish  race,  and,  as  indicating  the 
rank  they  had  already  taken,  said :  '  At  this  moment 
the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party  in  Germany  is  a  Jew ; 
the  leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  France  is  a 
Jew,  and  the  leader  of  the  Conservative  party  in 
England  is  a  Jew.'  Our  own  country  can  furnish  a 
long  list  of  useful  and  conspicuous  men  of  your  race 
— merchants  and  bankers,  philanthropists  and 
patriots,  physicians  and  lawyers,  authors  and  orators 
and  editors,  teachers  and  preachers — all  of  them 
furnishing  the  young  people  of  this  Jewish  orphan 
asylum  worthy  models  to  excite  their  ambition  to 
become  worthy  successors..^ 


McKINLEY    OX    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        151 

THE  CHARACTER  AND  TRAINING  OP  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

[February  12th,  1895,  at  Albany,  N.  Y.] 

"We  meet  to-night  to  do  honor  to  one  whose 
achievements  have  heightened  human  aspirations 
and  broadened  the  field  of  opportunity  to  the  races 
of  men.  While  the  party  with  which  we  stand,  and 
for  which  he  stood,  can  justly  claim  him,  and  with- 
out dispute  can  boast  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
to  honor  and  trust  him,  his  fame  has  leaped  the 
bounds  of  party  and  country,  and  now  belongs  to 
mankind  and  the  ages. 

"  What  were  the  traits  of  character  which  made 
him  leader  and  master,  without  a  rival,  in  the  greatest 
crisis  in  our  history  ?  What  gave  him  such  mighty 
power?  Lincoln  had  sublime  faith  in  the  people. 
He  walked  with  and  among  them.  He  recognized 
the  importance  and  power  of  enlightened  public  sen- 
timent, and  was  guided  by  it.  Even  amid  the  vicis- 
situdes of  war  he  concealed  little  from  the  public  re- 
view and  inspection.  In  all  he  did  he  invited  rather 
than  evaded  examination  and  criticism.  He  sub- 
mitted his  plans  and  purposes,  as  far  as  practicable, 
to  public  consideration  with  perfect  frankness  and 
sincerity.  There  was  such  homely  simplicity  in  his 
character  that  it  could  not  be  hedged  in  by  the  pomp 
of  place  nor  the  ceremonials  of  high  official  station. 


152        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATEIOTISM 

He  was  so  accessible  to  the  public  tliat  he  seemed  to 
take  the  whole  people  into  his  confidence. 

"  Here,  perhaps,  was  one  secret  of  his  power.  The 
people  never  lost  their  confidence  in  him,  however 
much  they  unconsciously  added  to  his  personal  dis- 
comfort and  trials.  His  patience  was  almost  super- 
human. And  who  will  say  that  he  was  mistaken  in 
his  treatment  of  the  thousands  who  thronged  con- 
tinually about  them  ?  More  than  once,  when  re- 
proached for  permitting  visitors  to  crowd  upon  him, 
he  asked,  with  pained  surprise,  *  Why,  what  harm 
does  this  confidence  in  men  do  me?*  Horace 
Greeley  once  said  :  *  I  doubt  whether  man,  woman, 
or  child,  white  or  black,  bond  or  free,  virtuous  or 
vicious,  ever  accosted  or  reached  forth  a  hand  to 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  detected  in  his  countenance 
or  manner  any  repugnance  or  shrinking  from  the 
proffered  contact,  any  assumption  of  superiority  or 
betrayal  of  disdain.'  Bancroft,  the  historian,  allud- 
ing to  this  characteristic,  which  was  never  so  con- 
spicuously manifested  as  during  the  darker  hours  of 
the  war,  beautifully  illustrated  it  in  these  memorable 
words :  '  As  a  child,  in  a  dark  night,  on  a  rugged 
way,  catches  hold  of  the  hand  of  its  father  for  guid- 
ance and  support,  Lincoln  clung  fast  to  the  hand  of 
the  people  and  moved  calmly  through  the  gloom.1 

"  His  earliest  public  utterances  were  marked  by 
this  confidence.  On  March  9th,  1832,  when  announc- 
ing himself  a  candidate  for  Representative,  he  said 
that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  make  known  to  the  people 


McKIXLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM         153 

his  sentiments  upon  the  questions  of  the  day. 
1  Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambition/ 
he  observed, '  and  whether  it  be  true  or  not  I  can  say 
for  one  that  I  have  no  other  so  great  as  that  of  being 
truly  esteemed  of  my  fellow  men  by  rendering  my- 
self worthy  of  their  esteem.  How  far  I  shall  suc- 
ceed in  gratifying  this  ambition  is  yet  to  be  de- 
veloped. I  am  young  and  unknown  to  many  of  you. 
I  was  born  and  have  ever  remained  in  the  most 
humble  walks  of  life.  I  have  no  wealthy  or  popular 
relatives  or  friends  to  recommend  me.  My  case  is 
thrown  exclusively  upon  the  independent  voters  of 
the  county.  .  .  .  But  if  the  good  people  in 
their  wisdom  shall  see  fit  to  keep  me  in  the  back- 
ground, I  have  been  too  familiar  with  disappointment 
to  be  very  much  chagrined.' 

"  In  this  remarkable  address,  made  when  he  was 
only  twenty-three,  the  main  elements  of  Lincoln's 
character  and  the  qualities  which  made  his  great 
career  possible  are  revealed  with  startling  distinct- 
ness. We  see  therein  *  that  brave  old  wisdom  of 
sincerity/  that  oneness  in  feeling  with  the  common 
people,  and  that  supreme  confidence  in  them  which 
formed  the  foundation  of  his  political  faith. 

"  Among  the  statesmen  of  America  Lincoln  is  the 
true  democrat,  and — Franklin,  perhaps,  excepted — 
the  first  great  one.  He  had  no  illustrious  ancestry, 
no  inherited  place  or  wealth,  and  none  of  the  pres- 
tige, power,  training,  or  culture  which  were  assured 
to  the  gentry  or  landed  classes  of  our  own  colonial 


154        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATEIOTISM 

times.  Nor  did  Lincoln  believe  that  these  classes — 
respectable  and  patriotic  however  they  might  be — 
should,  as  a  matter  of  abstract  right,  have  the  con- 
trolling influence  in  our  government.  Instead,  he  be- 
lieved in  the  all-pervading  power  of  public  opinion. 

"  Lincoln  had  little  or  no  instruction  in  the  com- 
mon school ;  but,  as  the  eminent  Dr.  Cuyler  has  said, 
he  was  graduated  from  '  the  grand  college  of  free 
labor,  whose  works  were  the  flatboat,  the  farm,  and 
the  backwoods  lawyer's  office/  He  had  a  broad  com- 
prehension of  the  central  idea  of  popular  govern- 
ment. The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  his 
hand-book ;  time  and  again  he  expressed  his  belief 
in  freedom  and  equality.  On  July  1st,  1854,  he 
wrote:  'Most  governments  have  been  based,  prac- 
tically, on  the  denial  of  the  equal  rights  of  men. 
Ours  began  by  affirming  those  rights.  They  said : 
'  Some  men  are  too  ignorant  and  vicious  to  share  in 
government/  '  Possibly  so/  said  we,  *  and  by  your 
system  you  would  always  keep  them  ignorant  and 
vicious.  We  propose  to  give  all  a  chance,  and  we 
expect  the  weak  to  grow  stronger,  the  ignorant  wiser, 
and  all  better  and  happier  together/  We  made  the 
experiment,  and  the  fruit  is  before  us.  Look  at  it, 
think  of  it.  Look  at  it  in  its  aggregate  grandeur, 
extent  of  country,  and  numbers  of  population/ 

"His  antecedent  life  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
unconscious  preparation  for  the  great  responsibilities 
which  were  committed  to  him  in  1860.  Being  one 
of  the  masses  himself,  living  among  them,  sharing 


McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        155 

their  feelings,  sympathizing  with  their  daily  trials, 
their  hopes,  and  aspirations,  he  was  better  fitted  to 
lead  them  than  any  other  man  of  his  age.  He 
recognized  more  clearly  than  any  one  else  that  the 
plain  people  he  met  in  his  daily  life  and  knew  so 
familiarly  were,  according  to  our  theory  of  govern- 
ment, its  ultimate  rulers  and  the  arbiters  of  its  des- 
tiny. He  knew  this,  not  as  a  theory,  but  from  his 
personal  experience. 

"Born  in  poverty,  so  great  that  in  America  it  is  now 
almost  impossible  to  find  its  like,  and  surrounded  by 
obstacles  on  every  hand  seemingly  insurmountable 
but  for  the  intervening  hand  of  Providence,  Lincoln 
grew  every  year  into  greater  and  grander  intellectual 
power  and  vigor.  His  life  until  he  was  twelve  years 
old  was  spent  either  in  a  half-faced  camp  or  cabin. 
Yet  amid  such  surroundings  the  boy  learned  to  read, 
write,  and  cipher,  to  think,  declaim,  and  speak  in  a 
manner  far  beyond  his  years  and  time.  All  his  days 
in  the  schoolhouse  '  added  together  would  not  make 
a  single  year.'  But  every  day  of  his  life,  from 
infancy  to  manhood,  was  a  constant  drill  in  the  school 
of  nature  and  experience. 

"  His  study  of  books  and  newspapers  was  beyond 
that  of  any  other  person  in  his  town  or  neighbor- 
hood, and  perhaps  of  his  county  or  section.  He  did 
not  read  many  books,  but  he  learned  more  from 
them  than  any  other  reader.  It  was  strength  of 
body  as  well  as  mind  that  made  Lincoln's  career 
possible.  Ill  success  only  spurred  him  into  making 


156        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATBIOTISM 

himself  more  worthy  of  trust  and  confidence.  Noth- 
ing could  daunt  him.  He  might  have  but  a  single 
tow  linen  shirt,  or  only  one  pair  of  jeans  pantaloons, 
he  often  did  not  know  where  his  next  dollar  was  to 
come  from,  but  he  mastered  English  grammar  and 
composition,  arithmetic,  geometry,  surveying,  logic, 
and  the  law. 

"  How  well  he  mastered  the  art  of  expression  is 
shown  by  the  incident  of  the  Yale  professor  who 
heard  his  Cooper  Institute  speech  and  called  on 
him  at  his  hotel  to  inquire  where  he  had  learned 
his  matchless  power  as  a  public  speaker.  The 
modest  country  lawyer  was  in  turn  surprised  to  be 
suspected  of  possessing  unusual  talents  as  an  orator, 
and  could  only  answer  that  his  sole  training  had 
been  in  the  school  of  experience. 

"  Eight  years'  service  in  the  Illinois  Legislature, 
two  years  in  Congress,  and  nearly  thirty  years' 
political  campaigning  in  the  most  exciting  period  of 
American  politics  gave  scope  for  the  development  of 
his  powers,  and  that  tact,  readiness,  and  self-reliance 
which  were  invaluable  to  a  modest,  backward  man 
such  as  Lincoln  naturally  was.  Added  to  these 
qualities  he  had  the  genius  which  communizes,  which 
puts  a  man  on  a  level,  not  only  with  the  highest,  but 
with  the  lowest  of  his  kind.  By  dint  of  patient 
industry  and  by  using  wisely  his  limited  opportu- 
nities he  became  the  most  popular  orator,  the  best 
political  manager,  and  the  ablest  leader  of  his  party 
in  Illinois. 


McKIXLEY    OX    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        15? 

"  But  the  best  training  he  Imd  for  the  Presidency, 
after  all,  was  his  twenty-three  years'  arduous  expe- 
rience as  a  lawyer,  traveling  the  circuit  of  the  courts 
of  his  district  and  State.  Here  he  met  in  forensic 
contests,  and  frequently  defeated,  some  of  the  most 
powerful  legal  minds  of  the  West.  lu  the  higher 
courts  he  won  still  greater  distinction  in  the  impor- 
tant cases  committed  to  his  charge. 

"  With  this  preparation  it  is  not  surprising  that 
Lincoln  entered  upon  the  Presidency  peculiarly 
well  equipped  for  its  vast  responsibilities.  His  con- 
temporaries, however,  did  not  realize*  this.  The 
leading  statesmen  of  the  country  were  not  prepos- 
sessed in  his  favor.  They  appear  to  have  had  no 
conception  of  the  remarkable  powers  latent  beneath 
that  uncouth  and  rugged  exterior." 

THE   PANIC — MONEY — A   CONVERT. 
[East  Liverpool,  Ohio,  October  17th,  1893.] 

"In  the  midst  of  unexampled  plenty,  with  no 
inflation  of  prices,  for  prices  had  never  been  so  low ; 
with  no  inflation  of  money,  with  every  dollar  in  cir- 
culation as  good  as  every  other  dollar,  with  no  pre- 
mium on  gold,  we  are  struck  by  business  depression 
from  ocean  to  ocean.  What  has  occasioned  this? 
Is  it  the  money  of  the  country  ?  We  have  more 
money  to-day  than  we  ever  had  in  all  our  history, 
and  we  have  as  good  mcney  as  we  ever  hud  before. 
Every  dollar  is  worth  1  X)  cents  and  every  dollar  good 


158        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM 

to  pay  all  debts — private  or  public.  We  have  every- 
thing we  had  last  year  but  prosperity.  We  bartered 
that  away  for  a  change  of  administration.  [Terrific 
trumpeting  of  tin  horns.]  If  the  President  were 
here  to-night  he  would  not  have  to  inquire  whether 
we  are  making  tin  in  the  United  States.  [Laughter 
and  renewed  trumpeting.]  These  tin  horns  here 
tell  the  story,  and  I  doubt  not  every  one  of  them 
was  made  from  American  tin  [applause],  which  two 
years  ago  they  said  we  could  not  make  in  the  United 
States.  This  year  we  have  the  same  men,  same 
money,  same  machinery,  and  the  same  markets  that 
we  had  last  year,  but  we  have  another  management. 
We  have  the  same  enterprise,  same  energy,  same 
magnificent  manufacturing  plants,  but  the  people 
last  year  decided  for  a  change  of  policy. 

*'  The  money  of  this  country — and  I  speak  to  Demo- 
crats and  Republicans  alike — should  be  as  fixed  and 
unvarying  as  human  ingenuity  can  make  it.  It 
measures  everything  you  have  to  sell ;  the  product 
of  the  farm,  the  merchandise  in  the  store,  the  labor 
of  your  hands  and  the  skill  and  genius  of  your 
brain,  and  if  it  is  varying  in  value  you  never 
know  what  you  may  get  for  your  products  when 
you  sell  them.  Therefore  it  is  but  right  that 
you  should  oppose  any  and  every  attempt  to  resur- 
rect the  wildcat  money  of  forty  years  ago.  There 
is  not  one  Southern  State  that  is  not  in  favor 
of  State  bank  money.  Do  you  know  why  ?  Because 
they  still  believe  in  State  st  ^ereignty.  They  don't 


McKINLEY   ON    CIVIC    PATKIOTISM        159 

seem  to  realize  that  State  sovereignty  was  shot  to 
death  twenty-five  years  ago.  [Applause.]  When 
wool  buyers — they  come  as  single  buyers  now — go 
around  they  pay  free  trade  prices,  because  the  Demo- 
cratic party  pledged  themselves  to  make  wool  free, 
and  they  are  in  power  in  every  branch  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. They  have  so  declared  in  their  national 
platform  and  they  even  passed  free  wool  through  the 
last  House  of  Representatives,  and  it  should  to-day 
have  been  a  law  had  it  not  been  for  a  Republican 
Senate  and  a  Republican  President.  The  wool 
buyer  remembers  this  when  he  is  buying  wool, 
and  so  he  pays  free  trade  prices.  This  is  true  of 
every  branch  of  industry.  It  is  true  of  every  de- 
partment of  labor.  But  you  have  still  the  Protec- 
tive Tariff  they  say.  Yes,  but  you  are  pledged 
to  repeal  it,  and  the  man  who  receives  notice  that 
his  house  is  about  to  be  demolished  does  not  wait 
until  the  dynamite  is  put  in,  but  moves  out  his  furni- 
ture as  soon  as  he  can.  Now  what  will  start  your 
factories  ?  ["  Hundred  thousand  majority  for  Mc- 
Kinley  in  November !"]  What  is  lower  tariff  for? 
It  is  to  make  it  easier  for  foreign  goods  to  get  in  the 
United  States,  to  increase  competition  from  abroad. 

tf  The  people  who  voted  for  a  change  last  fall  are 
not  satisfied,  and  the  people  who  did  not  vote  for  a 
change  are  not  satisfied.  We  find  Democrats  petition- 
ing to  have  the  tariff  left  undisturbed.  There  are  a 
good  many  of  them  who  have  looked  into  it 
["Ikirt?"]  Mr.  Ikirt,  my  friend  suggests.  Your 


160        McKINLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM 

own  fellow-citizen  and  your  Representative  in  Con* 
gress;  he  too  has  looked  into  the  pottery  industry 
since  last  election.  He  says  in  his  statement  that  he 
has  given  consideration  to  it.  Well,  it  is  better  to 
give  it  consideration  after  than  not  at  all ;  but  it  is 
better  always  to  consider  before  election  if  you  can. 
He  appears  before  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
and  asks  them  not  to  disturb  the  tariff  on  pottery.  I 
did  not  expect  we  would  ever  get  so  close — the  Doctor 
and  I.  I  remember  he  was  my  competitor  for  Con- 
gress once.  He  was  then  a  free  trader,  and  said  pro- 
tection was  a  fraud,  There  is  nothing  that  has  done 
my  heart  so  much  good  as  to  find  the  Doctor  down 
there  appealing  for  the  continuance  of  a  tariff  of 
sixty-five  per  cent,  on  pottery.  It  does  my  heart 
good  to  find  him  down  there  fighting  for  a  tariff 
which  I  had  put  upon  pottery  myself.  There  is  a 
sort  of  pathos  about  this  statement  of  the  Doctor's. 
After  appealing  for  the  pottery  industry  he  says, 
*To  err  is  human,  to  forgive  divine.'  That  is  a 
quotation  from  his  speech.  I  suppose  from  that  that 
it  was  human  for  him  to  err  last  year,  and  we  have 
forgiven  him  for  the  errors  and  we  welcome  him  to 
us.  The  only  thing  left  for  the  Doctor  to  do  is  to 
get  leave  of  absence,  come  home  on  election  day  and 
vote  for  me  for  Governor,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he 
will,  because  my  competitor  believes  in  free  trade  and 
declares  that  a  Protective  Tariff  is  a  fraud,  while  the 
Doctor  is  in  favor  of  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  'inci- 
dental '  protection.  I  was  one  of  those  who  helped 


McKIXLEY    OX    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        161 

to  make  that  tariff.  I  did  not  regard  it  as  incidental 
nor  accidental,  I  assure  you.  I  helped  to  put  it  there 
to  protect  the  potters  of  the  United  States  and  their 
labor,  and  it  did  it ;  and  every  Democrat  in  both 
branches  of  Congress  voted  against  it — every  one  of 
them.  Therefore  I  say  it  delights  my  heart  to  find 
the  Doctor  at  last  won  over  to  the  '  robber  tariff'  that 
cheats  everybody,  not  only  the  consumer  but  the 
laborer,  and  is  willing  to  take  sixty-live  per  cent,  for 
pottery.  If  for  pottery,  why  not  for  iron  and  steel, 
wool,  glass,  cotton,  and  woolen  goods  ?" 

ADDRESS   OX    THE   FIELD   OF    CHICKAMAUGA. 

September  18th,  1895. 

"The  exhibition  of  high  soldierly  qualities  dis- 
played by  both  the  blue  and  the  gray  will  be  on  every 
tongue  to-day.  The  battle  will  be  fought  over  a 
thousand  times  in  memory  between  those  who  lately 
contended  angrily  on  this  field.  All  that  is  well. 

"  But,  after  all,  my  countrymen,  what  was  it  all 
for  ?  What  did  it  mean  ?  What  was  all  this  strug- 
gle, all  this  exhibition  of  heroism,  and  these  appalling 
sacrifices  for?  A  reunited  country  makes  answer. 
No  other  is  needed.  A  union,  stronger  and  freer  than 
ever  before,  a  civilization,  higher  and  nobler  than  ever 
before ;  a  common  flag,  dearer  and  more  glorious  than 
ever  before ;  and  all,  all  of  them  secure  ficm  any 
quarter,  because  the  contestants  against  each  other 
ou  this  historic  field  thirty-two  years  ago  are  now 


McKINLEY   ON   CIVIC   PATRIOTISM 

united,  linked  in  their  might  forever  against  any 
enemy  which  would  assail  either  union  or  civilization 
or  freedom  or  flag. 

"  The  sacrifice  here  made  was  for  what  we  loved, 
and  for  what  we  meant  should  endure.  A  reunited 
people,  a  reunited  country,  is  the  glorious  reward. 

"  The  war  has  been  over  thirty-one  years.  There 
never  has  been  any  trouble  since  between  the  men 
who  fought  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  The  trouble 
has  been  between  the  men  who  fought  on  neither 
side — who  could  get  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  as 
occasion  or  interest  demanded.  The  bitterness  and 
resentments  of  the  war  belong  to  the  past,  and  its 
glories  are  the  common  heritage  of  us  all.  What 
was  won  in  that  great  conflict  belongs  just  as  securely 
to  those  who  lost  as  to  those  who  triumphed.  The 
future  is  in  our  common  keeping,  the  sacred  trust  of 
all  the  people.  Let  us  make  it  worthy  of  the  glorious 
men  who  died  for  it  on  this  and  other  fields  of  the 
war. 

"  It  is  gratifying  to  the  State  that  these  monuments 
are  hereafter  to  be  in  the  keeping  of  the  United 
States  Government.  The  government  they  preserved 
should  guard  them ;  that  is  where  they  belong. 
Henceforth  these  monuments  shall  be  the  precious 
possession  of  all  the  people.  They  show,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, the  honor  paid  by  a  great  commonwealth  to 
the  patriotic  valor  of  her  sons.  They  are  calculated 
to  encourage  patriotic  devotion  for  all  time.  They 
are  the  nation's  guarantee  that  the  bond  of  Union. 


McKIXLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM        163 

shall  not  be  broken.  Their  lesson  is  that  the  Con- 
stitution is  and  shall  remain  the  supreme  law  over  all. 
"  In  this  great  battle  some  fought  to  save  the 
Union,  others  to  divide  it.  Those  who  fought  to  save 
triumphed,  and  so  the  Union  survived.  Slavery  was 
abolished,  peace  restored,  the  Union  strengthened, 
and  now,  hand  in  hand,  ail  stand  beneath  the  folds 
of  one  flag,  acknowledging  no  other,  marching  for- 
ward together  in  the  enjoyment  of  one  common 
country  and  in  the  fulfillment  of  one  glorious  des- 


McKINLEY    AND   OHIO'S   ANTI-LYNCHINQ   LAW. 

[Governor  McICimey's  Message  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio, 
January,  1896.] 

"  Within  the  last  year  tnere  have  been  two  at- 
tempts to  lynch  prisoners  charged  with  crime  who 
were  under  arrest  and  in  custody  of  the  officers  of 
the  law.  In  both  cases  the  aid  of  the  military  was 
invoked  by  the  Sheriffs  of  the  counties  ;  in  both  cases 
the  law  was  upheld  and  the  prisoners  protected  from 
the  lynchers,  but,  unfortunately  in  both  cases,  only 
after  the  sacrifice  of  life.  In  the  case  in  Seneca 
County  two  men  were  killed  before  the  military  had 
arrived.  In  the  case  in  Fayette  County  the  military 
were  present,  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  Sheriff. 
The  protection  of  the  prisoners  in  this  case,  to  the 
deep  regret  of  all  concerned,  resulted  in  the  loss  of 
a  number  of  lives.  The  spirit  which  holds  the  laws 


164        McKIXLEY    ON    CIVIC    PATRIOTISM 

of  the  State  and  the  authority  of  its  chosen  officers, 
acting  within  the  law,  in  contempt,  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  triumph  anywhere  in  Ohio.  This  State 
has  boasted,  and  can  justly  boast,  of  the  virtue  and 
purity  of  its  courts  and  the  uprightness  and  fairness 
of  its  juries.  The  spirit  of  lynching  is  a  reflection 
upon  both  courts  and  juries,  and  all  the  legally-consti- 
tuted authorities  of  the  counties  and  the  State  as  well. 
If  there  be  a  crime  so  repulsive  that  the  punishment 
inflicted  by  existing  law  is  inadequate,  let  the  pres- 
ent General  Assembly,  by  law,  promptly  increase 
the  penalty.  I  urge  the  General  Assembly  to  use 
all  the  power  at  its  command  to  frown  upon  and 
stamp  out  this  spirit  of  lawlessness,  which  is  a  re- 
proach upon  the  State  and  a  shock  to  our  civiliza- 
tion. Lynching  must  not  be  tolerated  in  Ohio." 


CHAUNCEY   M.  DEPEW. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   LESSONS   OP   HEROIC   LIVES. 

McKinley  a  patriot — Oration — Piety  and  patriotism — Lessons  ol 
heroism— Influences  of  Chautauqua — A  fighting  patriot — The 
grand  review — A  generous  eulogy — Illustrious  names. 

THE  oration  before  the  Chautauqua  Assembly, 
Grand  Army  Day,  Monday,  August  26th, 
1895,  is  an  example  of  the  simplicity  and 
elevation  of  McKinley  on  a  patriotic  theme — and  is 
worthy  of  study  for  purity  of  style  and  force  of  ex- 
pression. 

"ORATION  BEFORE  THE  CHAUTAUQUA  ASSEMBLY, 
ON  GRAND  ARMY  DAY,  MONDAY,  AUGUST  26TH, 
1895. 

"  Mr.  President,  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  It  would  have 
given  me  pleasure  to  meet  this  splendid  Chautauqua 
Assembly  at  any  time,  but  my  gratification  is  the 
greater  because  I  am  invited  to  participate  with  you 
on  the  day  which  you  have  consecrated  to  country,. 

167 


168  LESSONS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES 

the  day  you  have  devoted  to  patriotism  and  the 
memories  of  the  past,  with  all  their  precious  lessons. 
What  could  be  more  fitting  on  the  part  of  this  asso- 
ciation, whose  chief  objects  are  to  exalt  Christianity 
and  promote  sound  learning,  than  to  set  apart  a  day 
to  the  brave  men  whose  service  and  sacrifice  pre- 
served unimpaired  the  liberties  we  enjoy,  for  our- 
selves and  posterity  ?  Piety  and  patriotism  have 
always  been  closely  allied.  My  older  hearers  will 
recollect  the  fervent  words,  and  recall  with  fond 
affection  the  matchless  voice  of*  dear  old  Bishop 
Simpson,  who  said  in  1861 :  *  Nail  the  flag  just  below 
the  cross !  That  is  high  enough — Christ  and  country, 
nothing  can  come  between  nor  long  prevail  against 
them.'  [Applause.] 

"  The  lessons  of  heroism  and  sacrifice  are  not  con- 
fined to  any  age  or  people,  nor  are  they  limited  to 
the  participants  or  the  survivors,  but  are  for  all  the 
people  living,  or  who  may  come  hereafter.  Fortu- 
nately, in  the  economy  of  the  Most  High,  the  influ- 
ence of  any  duty  nobly  done,  or  of  courage  or  devo- 
tion in  any  good  cause,  is  never  lost.  It  strengthens 
with  the  ages,  blessing  and  consecrating  as  the  years 
recede,  and  inspiring  others  to  suffer,  and,  if  needs 
be,  die  for  conscience  and  country.  This  was  the 
spirit  which  animated  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  Rebellion,  and  distinguished  both.  They 
battled  neither  for  commerce  nor  conquest,  but  for 
immortal  principles,  involving  alike  human  rights 
and  the  highest  welfare  of  the  human  race.  "What 


LESSOXS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES  169 

was  lost  to  America  in  the  first  great  struggle  was 
nobly  regained  in  the  last. 

"  These  patriotic  assemblages  cannot,  therefore,  be 
too  frequent,  which  invite  a  proper  study  of  the  past, 
not  in  hatred,  passion,  or  bitterness,  but  to  teach  and 
enforce  more  plainly  the  blessings  of  peace,  union, 
and  fraternal  love.  They  bring  us  closer  together, 
as  a  reunited  and  happy  people,  guided  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Master,  whose  life  was  one  of  sacrifice, 
and  who  is  glorified  as  the  Man  of  Peace  and  Son  of 
God. 

"  It  is  easy  to  decry  the  events  and  institutions 
with  which  we  are  familiar,  but,  after  all,  we  have 
many — very  many — patriotic  altars,  and  should  have 
many  more  national  celebrations.  All  along  the 
pathway  of  our  national  life,  from  Lexington  to 
Appomattox,  we  breathe  the  incense  of  heroism.  We 
are  not  unmindful  of  the  mighty  deeds  of  the  past, 
nOr  indifferent  to  the  heroes  who  achieved  them, 
nor  can  we  be  oblivious  to  the  glories  of  the  present, 
and  the  bright  promise  for  the  future.  In  a  certain 
sense  our  churches  and  schools,  our  newspapers  and 
literature,  are  constantly  inspiring  us  with  new  and 
greater  love  of  home  and  country.  The  work  and 
influence  of  such  great  popular  assemblages  as  this, 
not  only  here  at  Chautauqua,  the  fountain  head  of 
them  all,  but  in  other  and  distant  States,  are  of  price- 
less value  to  the  people.  [Applause.] 

"  You  have  builded  wise  and  well.  You  have  not 
only  given  to  the  world's  vocabulary  a  new,  beautiful, 


>70  LESSONS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES 

and  significant  name,  but  to  the  world  itself  a  new 
and  holy  zeal  in  the  good  cause  of  Christianity  and 
scientific  and  literary  study.  You  are  to  be  congratu- 
lated that  the  religious,  educational,  and  fraternal  in* 
fluences  of  Chautauqua  are  greater,  far  greater,  than 
you  know,  and  every where,*at  home  and  abroad,  are 
beneficial  and  elevating  to  mankind.  Liberty  of 
thought,  speech,  and  conscience  hold  full  sway  on 
these  congenial  grounds.  Bigotry  is  neither  encour- 
aged nor  tolerated,  but,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the 
fathers,  liberty  and  learning  go  hand-in-hand.  In 
such  an  atmosphere  American  patriotism  must  burn 
with  full  flame,  and  as  a  light  to  the  feet  of  all. 
[Applause.] 

For  what  is  patriotism  ?  Did  you  ever  stop  to 
reflect  upon  what  it  embraces?  There  is  born  in 
every  manly  breast  the  determination  to  defend  the 
thing  he  loves.  We  strike  down  the  enemy  who 
would  invade  our  homes,  and  guard  family  and  fire- 
side at  the  peril  of  our  lives.  There  is  no  sentiment 
so  strong  as  love ;  no  sacrifice  too  great  for  those  we 
love.  This  is  the  underlying  principle  of  genuine 
patriotism ;  the  foundation  of  true  loj;  alty  to  country. 
The  patriot  is  he  who,  loving  his  country,  is  willing 
not  only  to  fight,  but,  if  need  be,  to  die  for  it.  It  is 
this  sentiment  which  gives  to  human  governments 
their  strength,  security,  and  permanency.  It  is  this 
sentiment  which  nerves  the  soldier  to  duty,  and  gains 
his  consent  to  service  and  sacrifice.  The  strongest 
and.  best  government  is  the  one  which  rests  upon  the 


LESSONS    OF    HEROIC  LIVES  171 

reverent  affection  of  its  own  people ;  and  the  nearer 
the  government  to  the  people,  and  the  people  to  the 
government,  the  stronger  becomes  the  sentiment  of 
patriotism,  and  the  stronger  becomes  the  government 
itself.  The  laws  are  of  little  or  no  value  if  they  do 
not  have  behind  them  the  respect  and  love  of  the 
people.  When  patriotism  is  gone  out  of  the  hearts 
of  the  masses  the  country  is  nearing  dissolution  and 
death.  [Applause.] 

"  Did  you  ever  seriously  reflect  what  it  means  to 
be  a  fighting  patriot  ?  Many  people  preach  and  pro- 
fess patriotism,  but  the  true  patriot  is  he  who  prac- 
tices it,  and  he  can  seldom  practice  it  by  proxy. 
Patriotism  is  the  absolute  consecration  of  self  to 
country ;  it  is  the  total  abandonment  of  business ;  it 
is  the  turning  away  from  plans  which  have  been 
formed  for  a  life's  career.  It  is  the  surrendering 
of  bright  prospects,  and  the  giving  up  of  ambition 
in  a  chosen  work.  It  is  the  sundering  of  the  ties 
of  home  and  family,  almost  the  snapping  of  the 
heart-strings  which  bind  us  to  those  we  love.  It 
may  mean  disease  contracted  by  exposure  or  from 
wounds  in  battle.  It  may  mean  imprisonment,  in- 
sanity or  death.  It  may  mean  hunger,  thirst,  and 
starvation. 

"  In  our  own  Civil  War  it  meant  all  of  these.  With 
all  these  hard  conditions  there  were  nearly  three 
million  men  who  so  loved  liberty  and  union  that 
they  were  willing  at  any  cost  or  hazard  to  follow  our 
flag.  The  blood  of  a  half  mill  ion  men  was  exacted 


172  LESSONS    OF    HEKOIC    LIVES 

in  that  fearful  conflict  to  save  the  country  ;  and  there 
are  to-day  tens  of  thousands  who  are  suffering  from 
disease  contracted  in  the  service  of  the  government, 
and  many  thousands  more  bearing  wounds  from 
which  they  suffer  every  hour  in  the  day,  and  some  of 
these,  alas !  are  in  distressing  poverty.  Our  asylums 
contain  many  more-of  the  poor  fellows  whose  hard  ser- 
vice dethroned  reason  and  unbalanced  mind  forever. 
The  demands  of  patriotism  meant  for  many  wives 
widowhood,  for  many  children  orphanage.  They  took 
from  many  a  mother  her  whole  support,  the  love  of 
the  son,  upon  whose  strong  arm  she  had  counted  to 
lean  in  her  declining  years.  There  was  nothing  per- 
sonally attractive  or  promising  about  any  of  the 
features  of  enlistment  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion ; 
it  was  business  of  the  most  serious  sort.  Every  sol- 
dier took  dreadful  chances.  His  offering  was  noth- 
ing short  of  his  own  life's  blood,  if  his  country  should 
require  it.  This,  however,  then  seemed  insignificant 
in  that  overmastering  love  of  country,  in  that  burn- 
ing patriotism  which  filled  the  souls  of  the  boys  in 
blue,  in  that  high  and  noble  purpose  which  animated 
them  all,  that  they  were  to  save  to  themselves,  to 
their  families,  and  their  fellow-countrymen  the  freest 
and  best  and  purest  government  ever  known,  and  to 
mankind  the  largest  and  best  civilization  in  the 
world.  [Applause.] 

"  With  that  spirit  nearly  three  million  men  went 
forth  to  accept  any  sacrifice  which  cruel  war  might 
demand.  The  extent  of  that  sacrifice  far  exceeded 


LESSOXS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES  173 

human  expectation,  but  it  was  offered  freely  on  the 
altar  of  their  beloved  country.  Can  we  ever  cease 
to  be  debtors  to  these  men  ?  Is  there  any  reward  in 
reason  they  should  not  receive  ?  Is  there  any  emolu- 
ment too  great  for  them  ?  Is  there  any  benefaction 
too  bountiful?  Is  there  any  obligation  too  lasting? 
Is  there  any  honor  to  these  patriotic  men  which  a 
loving  people  can  bestow  that  they  should  not 
extend?  What  the  nation  is,  or  may.  become,  we 
owe  largely  to  them. 

"In  the  Grand  Review,  at  the  end  of  the  war, 
which  stands  unchallenged  as  the  greatest  ever  wit- 
nessed by  human  eyes,  stretched  across  the  great 
marble  capitol  at  Washington,  greeting  the  sight  of 
every  soldier  who  passed,  was  a  banner  bearing  this 
inscription :  '  There  is  one  debt  which  this  nation 
never  can  pay,  and  that  is  the  debt  it  owes  the  brave 
men  who  saved  this  nation/  That  was  true  then ; 
it  is  no  less  true  now. 

"If  there  is  one  of  those  old  patriots  sick  at  heart 
and  discouraged,  should  not  the  cheerful  and  the 
strong,  who  are  to-day  the  beneficiaries  of  his  valor, 
comfort  and  console  him?  If  there  is  one  who  is 
sick  or  suffering  from  wounds,  should  not  the  best 
skill  and  the  most  tender  nursing  wait  upon  and 
attend  him  ?  Fortunately,  our  people  have  so  far 
never  failed  in  the  most  generous  response  to  all  such 
demands  upon  them. 

"  We  are  not  a  martial  nation,  but  no  government 
of  the  world  can  boast  a  more  devoted,  self-sacrificing, 


174  LESSONS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES 

or  patriotic  citizenship  than  that  which  has  estab- 
lished and  maintained  our  free  institutions  for  the 
past  one  hundred  and  nineteen  years.  Nor  are  we 
a  nation  of  hero  worshipers,  but  the  men  who 
fought  and  suffered  from  the  Revolution  to  the 
Rebellion  for  independence,  freedom,  and  union, 
are  devotedly  cherished  in  memory  by  the  Ameri- 
can people.  The  soldiers  of  no  other  country  in 
the  world  have  been  crowned  with  such  immortal 
meedj  or  received  at  the  hands  of  the  people  such 
substantial  evidences  of  national  regard.  Other 
nations  have  decorated  their  great  captains  and 
knighted  their  illustrious  commanders ;  monuments 
have  been  erected  to  perpetuate  their  names  ; 
permanent  and  triumphal  arches  have  been  raised 
to  mark  their  graves.  Nothing  has  been  omitted 
to  manifest  and  make  immortal  their  valorous 
deeds. 

"In  the  United  States  we  not  only  honor  our 
great  captains  and  illustrious  commanders — the  men 
who  led  our  vast  armies  to  battle — but  we  shower 
honors  in  equal  measure  upon  all,  irrespective  of  rank 
in  battle  or  condition  at  home.  Our  gratitude  is  of 
that  grand  patriotic  character  which  recognizes  no 
titles,  permits  no  discrimination,  subordinates  all  dis- 
tinction ;  and  the  soldier  or  sailor,  whether  of  the 
rank  and  file,  the  line  or  the  staff,  infantry,  cavalry, 
or  artillery,  on  land  or  sea,  who  fought  and  fell  for 
liberty  and  union — indeed,  all  who  served  in  the 
great  cause — are  warmly  cherished  in  the  hearts  and 


LESSONS    OP    HEROIC    LIVES  175 

are  sacred  to  the  memories  of  a  great  and  generous 
people.  [Applause.] 

"  From  the  very  commencement  of  the  Civil  War 
we  recognized  the  elevated  patriotism  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  army,  and  their  unselfish  consecration 
to  the  country,  while  subsequent  years  have  only 
served  to  increase  our  admiration  for  their  splendid 
and  heroic  services.  They  enlisted  in  the  army  with 
no  expectation  of  promotion — not  for  the  paltry  pit- 
tance of  pay,  not  for  fame  or  popular  applause,  for 
their  services,  however  efficient,  were  not  to  be 
heralded  abroad.  They  entered  the  army  moved 
by  the  highest  and  purest  motives  of  patriotism, 
that  no  harm  might  befall  the  republic.  While 
detracting  nothing  from  the  fame  of  our  matchless 
leaders,  we  know  that  without  that  great  army 
of  volunteers — the  citizen  soldiery — the  brilliant 
achievements  of  the  war  would  not  have  been  pos- 
sible. They,  my  countrymen,  were  the  great  power, 
the  majestic  and  irresistible  force.  They  stood  be- 
hind the  strategic  commanders,  whose  intelligence 
and  individual  earnestness,  guided  by  their  genius, 
gained  the  imperishable  victories  of  the  war. 

"  I  would  not  withhold  the  most  generous  eulogy 
from  conspicuous  soldiers,  living  or  dead ;  from  the 
leaders — Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Thomas,  Meade, 
Hancock,  McClellan,  Hooker,  Howard,  Logan,  and 
Garfield — who  flame  out  the  very  incarnation  of  sol- 
dierly valor  and  vigor  before  the  eyes  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  who  have  an  exalted  rank  in  history, 


176  LESSONS    OF   HEEOIC    LIVES 

and  fill  a  great  place  in  the  hearts  of  their  country- 
men.. We  need  not  fear,  my  fellow- citizens,  that 
the  great  captains  will  be  forgotten.  No  retrospect 
of  the  war  can  be  had,  no  history  of  the  war  can  be 
written,  which  shall  omit  the  name  of  the  gallant 
Sheridan,  who  made  the  scene  of  Stonewall  Jackson's 
stronghold  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  his  field  of 
glory ;  and  no  contemplation  of  the  war  can  be  had 
that  shall  pass  unnoticed  the  name  of  the  illustrious 
Hancock,  whose  brilliant  achievements  at  Gettysburg 
and  upon  other  noted  fields  covered  him  with  fame. 
And  no  history  of  this  war  can  be  written  which  will 
omit  the  name  of  the  glorious  Sherman — that  grand 
old  soldier  who  delved  into  the  mountains  at  Chatta- 
nooga and  came  out  splendidly  triumphant  at  the  sea. 
No,  we  can  never  forget  that  majestic  triumvirate,  nor 
especially  the  great  captain  who  commanded  all  the 
grand  military  divisions  of  the  grandest  army  of  the 
world — for  Grant  will  be  remembered  forever.  That 
silent,  sturdy  soldier,  who  closed  his  lips  on  the  word 
*  victory*  at  the  Wilderness  and  refused  to  speak,  but 
fought  it  out  on  that  line  until  the  complete  sur- 
render at  Appomattox,  and  who,  while  looking  into 
his  own  open  grave,  summed  up  in  history  the 
matchless  work  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public wrought  under  his  glorious  leadership. 
[Applause.] 

"  Nor  can  any  retrospect  of  the  war  be  had  which 
shall  omit  the  names  of  the  gallant  naval  officers  who 
contributed  such  distinguished  service  to  the  Union 


LESSOXS    OF    HEROIC    LIVES  177 

cause — Porter,    Dalilgren,    Goldsborough,    Dupont. 
Foote,  Am  men,  Rowan  ;  and, 

"  '  While  old  Ocean's  l>roa«t  boars  a  white  sail, 

And  Hod's  soft  stars  at  rest  irnide  through  the  gale, 
Men  will  ne'er  thy  name  forget,  O  heart  of  oak, 
Farragufc,  Favragut,  thunderbolt's  stroke.'  " 


CHAPTER  IX, 

McKINLEY    AND    MONEY. 

Nominated  for  Governor — The  sound  money  battle — A  full  dollar— 
Not  willing  to  chance  it — Two  yard-sticks — Struggle  against 
inflation — A  high  compliment — Opposed  to  unlimited  coinage 
• — Treasury  Keport. 

IN  1889  James  E.  Campbell,  in  the  Ohio  Guber- 
natorial race,  defeated  Joseph  B.  Foraker,  who, 
against  his  judgment,  yielded  to  solicitations  to 
run  for  a  third  term,  and  when  Campbell's  term  was 
waning,  he  was  nominated  for  re-election  on  a  silver 
platform.  There  were  some  timid  people  of  the  Repub- 
lican persuasion  who  thought  it  would  be  disastrous 
to  nominate  McKinley  for  Governor — he  was  so 
"  extreme "  and  "  high "  a  protectionist,  and  could 
not  win  in  putting  that  before  the  people.  McKinley 
was  nominated,  however,  and  then  came  the  crisis  of 
his  career  as  a  public  man.  He  had  become  famous 
in  Congress,  and  he  had  to  be  Governor  or  step  aside. 
What  did  he  do — evade  the  money  question  ?  The 
Democrats  had  presented  themselves  as  for  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver.  Did  McKinley  fail  to 
meet  that  issue  ?  On  the  contrary,  he  met  it  fairly 

178 


McKINLEY  AND  MOKEY  179 

and  squarely.  His  opening  speech  in  this  campaign 
of  1891  was  at  Niles,  Ohio  (his  birthplace),  August 
22d,  and  he  put  the  money  question  to  the  front, 
saying : 

"  The  Democratic  platform  declares  for  the  free 
and  unlimited  coinage  of  the  silver  of  the  world,  to 
be  coined,  as  freely  as  gold  is  now,  upon  the  same 
terms  and  under  the  existing  ratio.  The  platform  of 
the  Republican  party  stands  in  opposition  to  any- 
thing short  of  a  full  and  complete  dollar.  The  legis- 
lation of  the  la_st  Congress  is  the  strongest  evidence 
which  can  be  furnished  of  the  purpose  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  to  maintain  silver  as  money,  and  of  its 
resolution  to  keep  it  in  use  as  part  of  our  circulating 
medium  equal  with  gold.  The  law  which  the  Re- 
publican party  put  upon  the  statute  books  declares 
the  settled  policy  of  the  government  to  be  'to  main- 
tain the  two  metals  upon  a  parity  with  each  other 
upon  the  present  legal  ratio,  or  such  ratio  as  may  be 
provided  by  law.' 

"The  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver,  demanded 
by  the  Democratic  Convention  recently  held  in 
Cleveland,  amounts  to  this :  That  all  the  silver  of  the 
world,  and  from  every  quarter  of  the  world,  can  be 
brought  to  the  mints  of  the  United  States  and  coined 
at  the  expense  of  the  government ;  that  is,  that  the 
mints  of  the  United  States  must  receive  41 2  J  grains 
of  silver,  which  is  now  worth  but  80  cents  the  world 
over,  and  coin  therefor  a  silver  dollar,  which,  by  the 
fiat  of  the  government,  is  to  be  received  by  the  people 


180 

of  the  United  States,  and  to  circulate  among  them  as 
worth  a  full  dollar  of  100  cents. 

"The  silver  producer,  whose  41 2 1  grains  of  silver 
are  worth  only  80  cents  or  less  in  the  markets  of 
this  country  and  the  world,  is  thus  enabled  to 
demand  that  the  government  shall  take  it  at  100 
cents.  Will  the  government  be  as  kind  to  the  pro- 
ducer of  wheat,  and  pay  him  20  cents  more  per 
bushel  than  the  market  price?  The  silver  dollar 
now  issued  under  a  limited  coinage  has  80  cents  of 
intrinsic  value  in  it,  so  accredited  the  world  over ; 
and  the  other  20  cents  is  legislative  will — the  mere 
breath  of  Congress.  That  is,  what  the  dollar  lacks 
of  value  to  make  it  a  perfect  dollar  Congress  supplies 
by  public  declaration,  and  holds  the  extra  20  cents 
in  the  Treasury  for  its  protection.  The  government, 
buying  the  silver  at  its  market  value,  takes  to  itself 
the  profit  between  the  market  value  of  41 2  i  grains 
of  silver  and  the  face  value  of  the  silver  dollar. 
Now  it  is  proposed  to  remove  the  limit  and  to  make 
the  government  coin,  not  for  account  of  the  Treasury, 
but  for  the  benefit  of  the  silver  mine-owner. 

"  It  does  not  take  a  wise  man  to  see  that,  if  a 
dollar  worth  only  80  cents  intrinsically,  coined  with- 
out limit,  is  made  a  legal  tender  to  the  amount  of  its 
face  value  for  the  payment  of  all  debts,  public  and 
private,  a  legal  tender  in  all  business  transactions 
among  the  people,  it  will  become  in  time  the  exclu- 
sive circulating  medium  of  the  country.  Gold,  which 
is  20  per  cent,  more  valuable  on  every  dollar,  will 


McKINLEY   AND   MONEY  181 

not  be  paid  out  in  any  transactions  in  this  country 
when  an  80-cent  silver  dollar  will  answer  the  pur- 
pose. Nor  will  the  greenback  be  long  in  returning 
to  the  Treasury  for  redemption  in  gold.  We  shall 
do  our  business,  therefore,  with  short  dollars,  rather 
than  with  full  dollars,  as  we  are  now  doing.  The 
gold  dollar  will  be  taken  from  the  circulating  medium 
of  the  country  and  hoarded,  and  the  effect  will  be 
that  the  circulating  medium  will  not  be  increased, 
but  reduced  to  the  extent  of  the  gold  circulating, 
and  we  will  be  compelled  to  do  the  business  of  the 
country  with  a  silver  dollar  exclusively — which, 
under  present  conditions,  is  confessedly  the  poorest — 
instead  of  doing  our  business  with  gold  and  silver 
and  paper  money,  all  equal  and  all  alike  good." 

Governor  McKinley  quoted  President  Cleveland 
and  the  Hon.  M.  D.  Harter,  a  Democratic  Represen- 
tative in  Congress,  and  proceeded : 

"  My  competitor  (Governor  Campbell)  has  said  in 
his  reported  interviews  that  in  sentiment,  upon  this 
subject,  *  The  Democrats  of  Ohio  are  very  much 
divided  ;  that  the  vote  in  the  convention  was  a  very 
close  one.'  This  close  vote  only  emphasizes  the 
danger  of  the  free  coinage  declaration  in  the  minds 
of  a  large  number  of  the  Democrats  in  the  State,  but 
enjoins  the  importance  and  necessity  of  the  friends 
of  honest  money  standing  together,  as  in  all  the 
contests  of  the  past  they  have  been  forced  to  stand 
together  for  an  honest  currency.  Governor  Campbell 
declared  in  one  of  his  interviews  that,  while  he  had 


182 

doubts  about  it,  be  was  willing  '  to  chance  free  and 
anlimited  coinage  of  silver.'  I  am  not  willing  to 
'  chance '  it.  Under  present  conditions  the  country 
cannot  afford  to  chance  it.  We  cannot  gamble  with 
anything  so  sacred  as  money,  which  is  the  standard 
and  measure  of  all  values.  I  can  imagine  nothing 
which  would  be  more  disturbing  to  our  credit  and 
more  deranging  in  our  commercial  and  financial 
affairs  than  to  make  this  the  dumping  ground  of  the 
world's  silver.  The  silver  producer  might  be  bene- 
fited, but  the  silver  user  never.  If  there  is  to  be  any 
profit  in  the  coinage  of  silver,  it  should  go  to  the 
government.  It  has  gone  to  the  government  ever 
since  the  Bland- Allison  law  went  into  effect.  The 
new  declaration  would  take  it  from  the  government 
and  give  it  to  the  silver  producer. 

"  Now,  the  people  know  that,  if  we  had  two  yard- 
sticks, one  three  feet  in  length  and  the  other  two  and 
a  half  feet  in  length,  the  buyer  would  always  have 
his  goods  measured  to  him  by  the  shorter  stick,  and 
that  the  longer  stick  would  go  into  permanent  disuse. 
It  is  exactly  so  with  money." 

Major  McKinley  proceeded  to  argue  that  the 
bondholders  had  been  largely  paid  in  100-cent 
dollars,  and  that  the  pensioners  should  not  be  paid 
in  depreciated  dollars.  He  said  of  the  struggle  in 
1867: 

"  When  the  attempt  was  made  at  that  time  by  the 
leaders  of  the  party  that  now  stands  in  opposition  to 
the  Kepublican  party  to  repudiate  the  debt  to  tkt 


SIGNATURES  OF  AMERICAN  AND  SPANISH  PEACE  COMMISSIONERS  TO  TREATY  OF  PEACE 

Reproduced  from  Photograph  Taken  by  Signal  Service  Officers  Expressly  for  This  History, 

by  Permission  of  State  Department  at  Washington. 


McKINLEY   AND  MONEY  185 

bondholder,  or  pay  it  off  in  depreciated  currency, 
insisting  that  we  never  could  pay  it  in  full,  the 
soldiers  stood  with  the  party  which  represents  good 
faith  to  our  creditors  and  the  honorable  payment  of 
every  obligation,  and  swept  back  the  tide  of  inflation 
and  repudiation.  They  said  that  the  Union  which 
they  saved  from  force  should  have  no  stain  upon  its 
financial  honor,  but  every  debt  it  had  contracted  to 
preserve  the  Union  should  be  paid  in  the  best  coin 
of  the  Republic,  and  every  obligation  should  be 
sacredly  kept  and  observed.  They  were  willing  to 
wait  for  their  pensions  until  the  great  money  obliga- 
tion was  discharged.  The  government  credit  was 
therefore  sustained,  and  over  two  thousand  millions 
of  that  great  debt  has  been  paid  off,  not  in  a  clipped 
dollar,  but  in  a  full  dollar.  The  positions  are  to-day 
reversed." 

In  concluding  this  branch  of  his  subject,  Major 
McKinley  spoke  for  Ohio  in  these  clear  and  unmis- 
takable terms,  that  are  as  pertinent  to-day  as  then : 

"  Ohio  has  never  in  the  past  given  her  vote  for  a 
debased  currency,  and  she  will  not  do  so  in  the 
future.  When  the  country  was  wild  for  inflation — 
in  1875— under  pressure  of  hard  times  (and  they 
were  hard),  the  sober  sense  of  the  people  of  this 
State,  without  regard  of  party,  stemmed  that  awful 
tide.  The  people  of  Ohio  had  more  to  do  than  any 
other  State  or  constituency  of  the  Union  in  keeping 
the  nation  upon  the  rock  of  honest  finance  and  honest 
Currency.  Thousands  of  Democrats  helped  in  that 


186  McKINLEY   AND   MONEY 

great  struggle — not  through  their  own  party  organi- 
zation, but  by  leaving  their  party  and  joining  with 
the  party  which  represented  good  faith  and  honest 
dealing  with  the  public  creditor.  They  can  take  no 
other  course  this  year.  And  the  people  of  Ohio  will 
take  no  backward  step." 

In  the  campaign  with  Campbell  there  was  a  joint 
debate  at  Ada,  October  8th,  when  the  questions  at 
issue  had  been  thoroughly  gone  over,  and  McKinley, 
describing  the  issues,  said  he  proposed  to  occupy  his 
time  with  two  of  them — the  question  of  silver  (giving 
it  the  first  place  again,  it  will  be  noticed),  and  the 
other  question  was  that  of  taxation. 

This  campaign  is  especially  interesting  in  a  study 
of  the  Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
in  view  of  the  prominence  given  the  question  of 
money  standards.  McKinley  had  been  gerryman- 
dered out  of  Congress  by  a  Democratic  Legislature, 
because  he  was  the  champion  protectionist — one  of 
the  highest  compliments  he  ever  received.  He  was 
decorated  with  the  particular  displeasure  of  the 
Democracy,  and,  from  their  party  point  of  view,  de- 
served it.  The  people  of  Ohio  took  him  up  for 
enlarged  public  service,  and  the  Democratic  party 
adopted  a  free-silver  coinage  platform.  The  greatei 
distinction  of  McKinley  was  as  a  protectionist,  but  he- 
met  the  silver  issue  forced  by  the  action  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  aggressively.  At  his  opening  and  birth- 
place speech  in  this  most  critical  time  of  his  fortunes, 
he  was  prompt,  thorough,  and  emphatic  in  his  treat- 


McETNLEY   AND   MONEY  1ST 

ment  of  money  questions,  and  his  remarks  cannot  be 
read  by  one  who  understands  the  history  and  science 
of  money  without  admiration  for  the  evidence  that 
McKinley  has  mastered  the  subject.  He  employs 
the  right  word  every  time  to  express  his  exact  mean- 
ing, and  this  precision  of  phrase  is  rare  in  the  dis- 
cussions of  the  standards.  Announcing  the  matters 
that  were  at  issue  between  himself  and  Governor 
Campbell,  McKinley  said  there  were  two  prominent 
points,  and  "  the  one  relates  to  the  standard  with 
which  we  shall  measure  our  exchanges  and  our  labor 
with  each  other  and  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and 
the  other  relates  to  the  subject  and  the  method  of 
taxation,  by  which  we  shall  raise  the  needed  revenues 
for  public  purposes. 

"  The  Republicans  stood,"  the  Major  said,  putting 
the  actual  money  question  in  one  plain  sentence, 
"for  a  dollar  worth  one  hundred  cents,"  and  he 
added : 

"You  can  buy  to-day  371  i  grains  of  pure  silver, 
which  constitutes  the  silver  dollar;  you  cnn  buy  it 
in  the  markets  of  the  world  to-day  for  76  cents. 
Free  and  unlimited  coinage  invites  the  silver  pro- 
ducers of  the  world  to  bring  their  76  cents'  worth  of 
silver  to  the  mints  of  the  United  States,  the  govern- 
ment agreeing  to  coin  that  silver  into  a  silver  dollar, 
and  by  its  flat  compels  people  to  take  it  for  100  cents, 
and  the  difference  between  76  cents,  which  is  the 
price  of  silver  to-day,  and  100  cents,  which  is  the 
face  value  of  the  silver  dollar,  goes  into  the  pockets 


188  McKINLEY   AND   MONEY 

of  the  silver  kings  of  the  world ;  and  if  we  had  had 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  in  the  last  twelve  years 
the  $67,000,000,  which  was  the  seigniorage  or  gain 
to  the  government,  would  have  been  divided  among 
the  silver  producers  of  this  country  and  the  silver 
producers  of  the  world.  When  we  sell  our  labor  or 
our  crops,  we  want  to  get  for  it  a  money  that  is  as 
good  as  the  thing  we  gave  for  that  money,  and  we 
want  the  thing  we  get  to  be  unvarying  in  value — not 
only  good  to-day,  but  good  every  day  of  every  week 
of  every  year ;  not  only  good  in  the  United  States, 
but  good  where  every  trade  goes.  In  a  word,  we 
want  no  short  dollar,  we  want  no  short  weight,  we 
want  no  short  measure.  When  the  farmer  sells  his 
bushel  of  wheat  he  is  required  to  give  a  full  bushel 
in  measure ;  when  he  gets  his  pay  he  is  entitled  to 
have  a  full  dollar  in  value." 

But  it  is  said  Governor  McKinley  once  thought 
well  of  the  "  double  standard."  Well,  he  and  Gov- 
ernor Campbell  threshed  that  over  together  in  their 
debate,  and  this  is  what  McKinley  said  directly  upon 
that  subject : 

"  In  1877  I  voted  to  reinstate  the  ancient  silver  dol- 
lar a  part  of  the  coinage  of  the  United  States.  Silver 
had  been  stricken  from  our  coinage  in  1873 — stricken 
by  both  political  parties,  the  one  just  as  responsible 
as  the  other — and  in  1878,  being  in  favor  of  both 
gold  and  silver  as  money,  to  be  kept  at  parity  one 
with  the  other,  I  voted  for  the  restoration  of  the 
silver  dollar.  When  I  did  it  we  had  but  8,000,000 


McKINLEY   AND   MONEY  189 

silver  dollars  in  circulation.  When  I  did  it  silver 
was  more  valuable  than  it  is  to-day.  We  have  405,- 
000,000  silver  dollars  to-day,  and  that  is  as  much  as 
we  can  maintain  at  par  with  gold  with  the  price  of 
silver  that  prevails  throughout  the  world.  I  took 
every  occasion  to  reinstate  silver  to  its  ancient  place  in 
our  monetary  system,  because  I  wanted  both  metals. 
I  am  opposed  to  free  and  unlimited  coinage,  because 
it  means  that  we  will  be  put  upon  a  silver  basis,  and  do 
business  with  silver  alone,  instead  of  with  gold,  silver, 
and  paper  money,  with  which  we  do  the  business  of 
the  country  to-day — every  one  of  them  as  good  as  gold. 

"I  want  to  tell  the  workingmen  here  and  the 
farmers  that  it  takes  just  as  many  blows  of  the 
hammer,  it  takes  just  as  many  strokes  of  the  pick,  it 
takes  just  as  much  digging,  just  as  much  sowing,  and 
just  as  much  reaping  to  get  a  short  dollar  as  it  does 
to  get  a  full  dollar. 

"  A  one  hundred-cent  dollar  will  go  out  of  circula- 
tion alongside  an  eighty-cent  dollar,  which  is  a  legal 
tender  by  the  fiat  of  the  government.  And  no  class 
of  people  will  suffer  so  much  as  the  wage-earner  and 
the  agriculturist.  If  it  is  the  farmer  you  would 
benefit,  there  is  one  way  to  do  it.  Make  the  bushel 
measure  with  which  he  measures  his  wheat  for  the 
buyer  three  pecks  instead  of  four,  and  require  the 
buyer  to  pay  as  much  for  three  pecks  as  he  now 
pays  for  four.  No  man  knows  what  the  future  may 
be,  but  in  our  present  condition,  and  with  our 
present  light  every  consideration  of  safety  requires 


190  McKINLEY   A.ND   MONEY 

us  to  hold  our  present  status  until  the  other  great 
nations  shall  agree  to  an  international  ratio.'* 

There  is  no  sounder,  simpler,  more  wholesome 
doctrine  offered  this  day  by  any  professional  sound 
money  man  than  this.  More  than  that,  there  is  no 
public  man  who  speaks  from  higher  intelligence  on 
this  subject.  But  they  say  Major  McKinley  was  in 
favor  of  the  double  standard,  and  we  see  those  words 
in  large  type  and  displayed  as  if  they  were  criminal. 
What  he  meant  by  the  double  standard  he  explained 
in  this  luminous  passage : 

"  I  am  not  in  favor  of  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  silver  in  the  United  States  until  the 
nations  of  the  world  shall  join  us  in  guaranteeing 
to  silver  a  status  which  their  laws  now  accord  to 
gold.  The  double  standard  implies  equality  at  a 
ratio,  and  that  equality  can  only  be  established  by 
the  concurrent  law  of  the  nations.  It  was  the  con- 
current law  of  nations  that  made  the  double  stand- 
ard ;  it  will  require  the  concurrent  law  to  reinstate 
and  sustain  it.  Until  then  for  us  to  decree  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  the  world's  silver  would  be  to 
ordain  that  our  silver  dollars  must  surely  depreciate 
and  gold  inevitably  go  to  premium." 

It  has  been  much  mentioned,  and  McKinley  speaks 
of  it  freely,  that  he  voted  to  reinstate  the  ancient 
silver  dollar — and[  was  for  it  until  we  had  demon- 
strated by  coining  four  hundred  millions  and  more, 
that  this  nation  could  not  alone,  and  in  opposition  to 
the  great  moneyed  nations,  reinstate  silver.  Many. 


McKIXLEY   AND   MONEY  191 

have  denounced  this  action  who  should  know  that  if 
it  had  not  been  for  the  coinage  of  silver  by  the 
hundred  millions,  and  the  policy  of  the  parity  of  the 
precious  metals  insisted  upon  by  the  Republicans,  the 
silver  flood  would  have  broken  over  all  bounds  and 
we  should  have  been  on  the  silver  basis  long  ago.  It 
was  the  very  policy  McKinley  stood  for  that  pre- 
vented our  money  from  being  Mexicanized.  It  was 
right  and  true  and  strong  then,  and  right  and  true 
and  strong  now. 

The  Treasury  report  for  May  gives  the  following 
figures  of  cash  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States : 

Gold- 
Coin  $118,644,283  02 

Bars 32,6(32,859  89 

$151,807,14291 

Silver- 
Dollars     $376,572,499  00 

Subsidiary  Coin     .       15,637,42437 
Bars 119,989,914  36 

$512,199,837  73 

This  would  seem  to  show  that  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  bimetallism  in  our  country.  Of  the  full  legal 
tender  "  demonetized "  silver  dollars  we  have  on 
hand  376,644,283,  forty-seven  times  the  amount  of 
dollars  coined  under  the  free  silver  system  in  the 
eighty  years  that  it  prevailed.  That  is  the  way  this 
precious  metal  has  been  refused  its  right,  and  rob- 
bery of  the  people  ensued.  The  silver  storm  still 
rages,  notwithstanding  this  demonstration  that  one 
nation  cannot  restore  silver  except  at  an  expense 
that  would  be  ruinous.  It  is  clear,  however,  to  the 
calm  and  impartial  student  of  our  history,  that  with- 


192  McKINLEY   AND   MONEY 

out  this  effort  to  reinstate  silver  when  it  stood  almost 
at  a  parity  in  the  markets  at  the  old  ratio  with  gold, 
the  constant  decline  of  the  price  of  the  white  metal 
would  have  been  charged  to  the  omission  of  the  dol- 
lar from  the  coinage  orders — and  all  financial  troubles 
charged  to  the  decline,  and  all  the  misfortunes  of  the 
people  traced  to  the  same  source — and  the  result 
would  have  been  the  overwhelming  election  of  a  free 
silver  President  and  Congress,  and  we  would  have 
been  Mexicanized  as  to  money. 

If  McKinley  did  make  the  mistake  in  his  friendli- 
ness to  silver  of  overvaluing  it,  he  repeated  an  error 
of  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  fixed  the  original  ratio 
in  our  coinage  at  15  to  1.  We  have  heard  of  the 
crime  of  the  century  in  the  demonetization  of  silver. 
Well,  the  man  who  first  committed  it  was  Thomas 
Jefferson,  and  here  is  the  record : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  May  6,  1806. 
"  To  EGBERT  PATTERSON,  ESQ.,  Director  of  the  Mint. 
"  flir :  In  consequence  of  a  representation  from 
the  Director  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  that 
considerable  purchases  have  been  made  of  dollars 
coined  at  the  mint  for  the  purpose  of  exporting  them, 
and  as  it  is  probable  that  further  purchases  and  ex- 
portations  will  be  made,  the  President  directs  that 
the  silvei  coined  at  the  mint  shall  be  of  small  denomi- 
nations, so  that  the  value  of  the  largest  pieces  shall 
not  exceed  half  a  dollar.  I  am,  etc., 

".JAMES  MADISON." 


McKIXLEY   AND   MONEY  193 

This  was  issued  by  President  Jefferson.  The  coin- 
age of  dollars  was  stopped  on  this  order  for  thirty 
years.  Many  writers  do  not  seem  to  have  noticed 
'this,  to  give  it  full  weight  and  consideration.  Silver 
was  exported  because  it  was  the  best  money. 

There  was  great  difficulty  also  in  keeping  our  gold 
coin  in  use,  and  Thomas  H.  Benton  said  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  in  1834  : 

"  The  valuation  put  upon  gold  has  rendered  the 
mint  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the  gold  coinage 
is  concerned,  a  most  ridiculous  and  absurd  institu- 
tion. It  has  coined,  and  that  at  a  large  expense  to 
the  United  States,  2,262,177  pieces  of  gold,  worth 
$11,852,890,  and  where  are  the  pieces  now?  Not 
one  of  them  to  be  seen !  All  sold  and  exported ! 
And  so  regular  is  the  operation  that  the  Director  of 
the  Mint,  in  his  latest  report  to  Congress,  says  that 
the  new-coined  gold  frequently  remains  in  the  mint 
uncalled  for,  though  ready  for  delivery,  until  the 
day  arrives  for  a  packet  to  sail  for  Europe.  He  cal- 
culates that  two  millions  of  native  gold  will  be  coined 
annually  hereafter,  the  whole  of  which,  without  a 
reform  of  the  gold  standard,  will  be  conducted,  like 
exiles,  from  the  national  mint  to  the  seashore  and 
transported  to  foreign  regions." 

This  was  followed  by  the  law  that  reduced  the 
quantity  of  gold  li  grains  to.  the  dollar.  It  will  be 
observed  that  we  had  about  as  much  trouble  with 
gold  as  with  silver  coin, 


THE   MONEY   STANDARD   QUESTIONS. 

How  the  Money  Standard  Questions  have  been  settled  in  and  by  the 
Republican  party— Silver  legislation  in  brief — How  the  country 
was  saved  from  the  silver  standard — John  Sherman  and  Wil- 
liam McKinley  have  marched  together — The  Hon.  Charles 
Emory  Smith's  exposition  of  this  question — The  unexampled 
supply  of  gold  is  solving  the  money  questions  for  the  people 
and  abolishing  this  issue. 

THE  money  questions  have  been  settled  by  the 
Republican  party,  and  the  standard  of 
sound  money  is  like  the  flag  of  the  country, 
established,  and  the  credit  of  the  nation  fixed.  There 
was  no  compromise  in  the  peace  of  Appomattpx  and 
there  has  been  none  in  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments  which  marked  the  restoration  of  the  public 
solvency.  Republican  policy  has  provided  a  national 
currency  of  paper,  silver,  and  gold,  equal  in  volume 
to  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  all  good  as  gold. 
There  was  a  powerful  movement  at  the  close  of  the 
war  to  enlarge  the  greenback  issues  and  extend  the 
limit  of  paper  of  that  character  to  cover  all  the 
bonded  obligations  of  the  government,  but  the 

greenback  was  made  as  good  as  gold,  and  then  the 

1*4 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  195 

stress  of  the  passionate  green  paper  illusion  passed 
away. 

The  silver  question  took  form  when  the  country, 
under  strong  and  wise  guidance,  approached  resump- 
tion. It  was  then  ascertained  that  we  had  partici- 
pated so  far  in  an  international  plan  to  employ  the 
money  of  resumption  and  secure  the  advantage  of 
uniformity  in  coin  to  facilitate  the  intercourse  of 
nations,  as  to  omit  from  the  mint  regulations  the 
coinage  of  the  silver  dollar — our  only  white  metal 
coin  of  full  legal  tender  value — and  there  was  a  for- 
midable tendency  to  retain  the  standing  of  silver  in  the 
mints  without  limitation.  Silver  had  been  "  coin," 
in  the  meaning  of  the  laws  and  contracts,  through 
the  war,  and  when  the  bonds  were  issued — especially 
when  specie  payments  had  been  suspended — and 
there  was  an  impressive  propriety  that  "gold  and 
silver"  should  be  "coin,"  when  we  resumed  coin 
payments,  the  same  as  when  they  were  suspended. 
There  was  but  little  variation  then  between  the 
mint  and  market  value  of  the  two  precious  metals  at 
their  old  familiar  ratio  of  15J  to  1  in  Europe  and 
16  to  1  in  the  United  States,  and  the  matter  did  not 
seem  to  be  momentous.  The  fall  of  silver  had  set 
in,  caused  by  the  sale  of  silver  in  Germany,  to  estab- 
lish the  gold  standard,  and  the  enormous  silver  pro- 
duction in  Nevada.  The  general  judgment — at  least 
of  those  who  had  not  been  profound  students  or 
business  experts  in  money — was  that  if  we  replaced 
silver  at  the  mints  the  value  of  the  metal  in  the 


196  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

markets  would  advance  to  our  ratio.  Tins  view  of 
the  case  was  at  first  taken  by  Major  McKinley,  but 
he  supported  the  Allison  amendment  of  the  Bland 
bill,  which  was  not  to  have  "  free  "  coinage  of  silver 
dollars,  but  forced — commanded — coinage,  not  less 
than  two  or  more  than  four  millions  per  month. 
Unquestionably  this  movement,  originating  with  Mr. 
Allison  in  the  Senate  and  supported  by  Mr.  McKin- 
ley in  the  House,  saved  the  country  from  the  free 
coinage  of  silver,  and,  therefore,  the  silver  standard  ! 
John  Sherman  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
coined  the  minimum  sum — two  millions  a  month. 
He  advised  against  the  veto  of  the  measure  by  Presi- 
dent Hayes,  suggesting  that  he  should  allow  the  bill 
to  become  a  law  without  his  approval,  as  he  had 
conscientious  scruples  against  attaching  his  signature. 
The  bill  was  passed  over  the  President's  veto,  and 
the  continued  fall  of  silver — while  we  coined  over 
four  hundred  millions  of  white  dollars — was  an 
object  lesson  most  convincing  that  the  United 
States  could  not  alone  restore  silver  as  a  standard 
money  of  the  world. 

We  reached  the  point  that  it  was  necessary  to  stop 
the  free  coinage  of  silver  or  accept  the  silver  standard, 
and  we  stopped,  pledging  ourselves  to  maintain  the 
parity  of  the  two  money  metals,  and  there  we  are 
now,  and,  like  France,  the  great  bimetallic  country, 
we  uphold  silver  as  a  money  metal  by  the  limitation 
of  the  coinage  and  the  direct  application  of  the 
public  credit. 


THE  MO^EY  STANDARD  197 

Major  McKinley  has  stood  with  Secretary  and 
Senator  John  Sherman  with  unfaltering  courage  and 
unshaken  fidelity  throughout  this  contest,  and  was 
conspicuous  in  it  for  his  perfect  understanding  of  the 
general  situation,  his  intelligence  as  to  the  principles 
involved  and  applied,  and  his  exact  information  in 
details.  There  is  no  better  record  for  honest  dealing 
with  all  the  people  on  all  the  questions  of  sound 
money,  first  and  last,  than  his. 

One  of  the  most  frank,  instructive,  and  luminous 
discussions  of  the  silver  question  has  heen  supplied 
by  the  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  is  as  follows  : 

WHAT  is  FREE  COINAGE? 

BY   HON.  CHARLES   EMORY   SMITH. 

We  meet  again  the  demand  for  independent,  free, 
and  unlimited  coinage  without  regard  to  other  nations. 
To  this  demand  I  now  address  myself.  What  is  free 
coinage  ?  The  standard  silver  dollar  is  now  worth 
about  fifty  cents.  Free  coinage  means  that  the  govern- 
ment shall  receive  all  the  silver  which  may  be  pre- 
sented, and  upon  every  fifty  cents'  worth  put  the 
stamp  of  one  dollar.  As  nobody,  however,  expects  it 
to  be  coined,  it  really  means  that  the  government  shall 
issue  its  note  for  one  dollar  in  exchange  for  fifty 
cents'  worth  of  bullion,  and  that  this  note  which  the 
favored  bullion  owner  gets  for  fifty  cents'  worth  of 
his  commodity  shall  be  made  a  legal  tender  for  one 


198  THE  MONEY  STANDAKB 

dollar  in  current  circulation.  Now,  what  would  be 
the  result?  It  would  be  a  forced  circulation  of  a 
dollar  worth  one  half  its  face.  It  would  be  the 
debasement  of  the  unit  of  value,  and  so  the  violent 
disturbance  of  all  values.  It  would  be  the  destruc- 
tion of  stability,  and  so  the  overthrow  of  confidence, 
security,  and  prosperity. 

Let  me  be  entirely  frank.  I  know  the  advocates 
of  free  coinage  claim  that  their  measure  would  raise 
silver  to  the  standard  of  gold,  or  perhaps  they  would 
prefer  to  put  it,  reduce  gold  to  the  standard  of  silver 
— that,  in  a  word,  it  would  establish  parity.  They 
point  to  the  fact  that  the  silver  or  silver  certificates 
already  in  circulation  have  been  kept  at  par  at  the 
ratio  of  16  to  1,  notwithstanding  a  far  different  market 
ratio.  This  is  true,  because  we  have  limited  the  coin- 
age or  purchase,  because  we  have  maintained  the 
gold  reserve,  because  we  have  pledged  the  whole 
credit  and  power  of  the  government  to  sustain  parity. 
But  when  we  enter  upon  unlimited  coinage,  under 
present  conditions,  we  embark  upon  a  new  and  danger- 
ous sea.  The  free  silver  champions  contend  that  our 
silver  policy  has  failed,  because  we  haven't  gone  far 
enough,  and  they  insist  that  free  coinage  would  bridge 
the  divergence  and  remove  the  disparity  of  the  two 
metals.  There  is  no  other  pretense  upon  which  it 
can  be  defended  for  a  single  instant.  If  it  does  not 
establish  the  equivalence  of  gold  and  silver  at  the 
determined  ratio  it  is  rank  repudiation  and  dishonor. 
It  is  the  willful  adoption  of  the  debased  standard 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  199 

and  the  compulsory  circulation  of  a  depreciated 
dollar,  with  its  robbery  of  labor,  its  unsettlenient  of 
all  values,  its  derangement  of  all  finance  and  trade, 
and  its  incalculable  wrong  and  dangers  in  every 
direction. 

But  what  possible  hope  can  there  be,  in  the  light 
of  the  facts  already  before  us,  that  free  coinage  will 
re-establish  parity  ?  It  was  claimed  just  as  confi- 
dently that  the  Purchase  Act  of  1890  would  do  it. 
What  was  the  fact  ?  Its  first  temporary  effect  was  to 
raise  silver  so  that  the  bullion  value  of  a  dollar 
which  was  74  cents  in  1890  advanced  for  a  short 
time  to  84  cents ;  but  it  soon  dropped  back  to  72 
cents,  and  has  been  falling  ever  since.  We  were 
then  buying  pretty  nearly  the  entire  silver  product 
of  this  country.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that 
India,  the  great  sink  of  silver  in  the  East,  was  still 
under  free  coinage.  While  we  were  coining  or 
purchasing  nearly  $600,000,000  of  silver  India  was 
coining  over  $600,000,000,  and  during  all  this  time, 
and  in  spite  of  this  great  market,  silver  kept  on  fall- 
ing. India  has  since  stopped  her  free  coinage,  and 
how,  then,  can  we  hope  to  do  alone  what  the  two  to- 
gether could  not  do  ? 

Do  you  realize  what  free  coinage  by  the  United 
States  alone  involves  ?  It  involves  one  of  two  things- 
— either  the  lifting  up  of  the  entire  volume  of  silver 
in  the  world  to  the  standard  of  gold,  or  else  the 
dragging  down  of  the  United  States  to  the  single 
standard  of  silver.  There  is  no  possible  escape  from 


200  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

one  horn  or  the  other  of  this  dilemma.  The  visible 
stock  of  silver  in  the  world  is  about  $4,000,000,000. 
Europe  has  over  $1,000,000,000.  The  product  of 
the  United  States  in  1893  was  60,000,000  ounces. 
The  annual  product  of  the  world  has  grown  from  an 
average  of  40,000,000  ounces,  between  1860  and  1870, 
to  an  aggregate  of  160,000,000  ounces.  For  the 
United  States  alone  to  enter  upon  free  coinage  means 
that  we  must  stand  ready  to  buy  all  of  this  vast  stock 
that  may  be  attracted  by  our  open  hand  and  open 
mint,  and  that,  while  it  is  now  at  a  ratio  of  32  to  1, 
we  must  undertake  the  stupendous  and  impossible 
task  of  lifting  it  to  equivalence  with  gold  at  the  ratio 
of  16  to  1.  It  means  not  only  that  we  shall  stimu- 
late and  inflate  our  own  product,  but  that  Europe 
will  dump  its  surplus  silver  on  us.  I  know  the  silver 
extremists  deny  this  truth.  I  know  they  allege  that 
the  silver  of  Europe  is  in  use  as  coin  and  that  it 
could  not  be  sent  here  without  a  loss.  But  this  answer 
will  not  bear  examination,  as  a  moment's  considera- 
tion will  show. 

Ever  since  bimetallism  was  abandoned  Europe  has 
been  struggling  for  gold.  With  the  adoption  of  in- 
dependent free  coinage  in  this  country  that  struggle 
would  gain  new  force,  because  it  would  be  notice  that 
the  re-establishment  of  bimetallism  had  been  indefi- 
nitely postponed.  The  Bank  of  France  has  $250,- 
000,000  of  silver,  not  in  circulation,  but  locked  up 
in  its  vaults.  The  Bank  of  Germany  has  over 
$150,000,000.  The  Bank  of  Spain  has"  about  $50,- 


HON.  CHAS.   EMORY   SMITH , 
(Ex- Minister  to  Russia.  ^ 


HON.   LEVI   P.    MORTON. 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  203 

000,000,  the  Bank  of  the  Netherlands  $35,000,000, 
and  others  varying  amounts.  There  are  over  $450,- 
000,000  stored  in  nine  banking  houses.  This  silver 
is  worth  nothing  to  them  beyond  its  bullion  value. 
It  serves  as  a  part  of  the  metallic  reserve  for  their 
paper  money ;  but  they  could  better  sustain  more 
paper  on  gold,  and  if  they  could  make  the  substitu- 
tion by  sending  this  silver  to  the  United  States  and 
exchanging  it  for  gold,  why  wouldn't  they  do  it  ? 
Let  me  give  you  commanding  authority.  Henry 
Cernuschi  is  the  ablest  champion  in  Europe  of  the 
restoration  of  silver  and  the  recognized  leader  of  the 
bimetallists.  In  his  pamphlet  on  "  The  Great 
Metallic  Powers  "  he  says  :  "As  soon  as  the  coinage 
of  silver  by  the  United  States  was  free,  Europe 
would  act  toward  the  United  States  just  as  Germany 
acted  toward  France,  so  long  as  France  coined  silver. 
Europe  would  demonetize  large  masses  of  silver  and 
send  them  to  Philadelphia  to  get  them  made  into 
dollars,  with  which  dollars  she  would  get  gold 
dollars  despatched  to  .her."  And  again:  "Why 
is  not  the  coinage  of  silver  free  in  France? 
Because,  were  the  coinage  free,  all  the  gold 
would  emigrate,  and  France,  deprived  of  gold, 
would  no  longer  have  a  monetary  medium,  either 
with  England,  or  with  Germany,  or  with  the 
United  States.  Very  venturesome  would  be 
those  who  should  recommend  the  United  State? 
of  America  to  undertake  single-handed  what 
France  will  undertake  only  triple-handed."  Wise 


204  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

counsel  and  admonition  from   the  greatest  of  the 
friends  of  silver ! 

Let  me  add  another  impressive  warning.  And  in 
order  to  make  it  specific  will  you  pardon  a  personal 
allusion,  and  a  statement  which  I  have  never  publicly 
made  before,  and  in  making  which  at  the  present 
time  I  hope  I  am  not  altogether  indiscreet.  In  1890 
when  the  bill  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  was  pend- 
ing in  the  United  States  Senate,  I  had  the  honor  of 
being  the  American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg.  The 
Russian  Minister  of  Finance  was  Mr.  Vishnegradski, 
who  died  a  few  days  since — a  statesman  of  extra- 
ordinary capacity,  and  perhaps  the  ablest  Finance 
Minister  in  Europe  at  the  time.  I  had  occasion  one 
day  to  call  upon  him,  and  I  found  him  with  a  copy 
of  the  American  free  coinage  silver  bill,  then  under 
debate  in  the  Senate,  lying  open  on  the  table  before 
him.  His  first  expressions  revealed  his  profound  in- 
terest in  the  subject.  He  had  studied  the  details  of 
the  bill  to  the  minutest  particular.  He  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  pronounce  it  a  most  remarkable  measure,  in- 
volving a  most  disastrous  policy,  which,  as  a  friend  of 
the  United  States  and  of  safe  finance,  he  hoped  she 
would  not  undertake.  He  inquired  carefully  after 
its  prospects,  and  then  in  earnest  words  came  the 
pregnant  climax,  which,  as  others  were  involved,  I 
shall  not  in  this  public  declaration  venture  to  repeat 
in  as  specific  a  form  as  he  gave  it  in  that  more  confi- 
dential talk.  But  he  said  in  substance :  "  If  this  bill . 
becomes  a  law  the  United  States  will  expose  herself 


205 

to  dangers  of  which  she  has  perhaps  little  idea ;  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  silver  in  Europe ;  we  have  some  in 
Russia ;  already  the  proposition  has  been  made  to  me 
to  join  in  a  movement,  in  the  event  of  the  American 
adoption  of  free  coinage,  to  unload  a  part  of  Europe's 
silver  on  the  United  States ;  but  I  believe  this  measure 
and  this  action  would  bring  calamity,  and  I  hope  the 
United  States  will  make  no  such  mistake."  It  was 
the  clear  vision  and  the  weighty  remonstrance  of  a 
statesman  looking  on  with  the  truer  perspective  of 
distance,  and  speaking  with  direct  personal  knowl- 
edge of  dangers  which  the  silver  extremists  profess 
to  scout  and  deride. 

With  free  coinage  the  surplus  silver  of  the  world 
would  flow  toward  our  shores  as  infallibly  as  the 
dropping  apple  seeks  the  ground.  It  would  flow  here 
because  this  would  be  its  one  great  market  at  a  price 
not  offered  anywhere  else.  Realizing  the  danger  of 
this  deluge,  some  of  the  silver  radicals  have  proposed 
to  limit  free  coinage  to  the  American  product.  But 
none  of  the  free  coinage  bills  has  ever  embraced  that 
limitation.  And  if  you  tried  it  how  could  you  do  it "? 
With  a  temporary  artificial  and  exaggerated  price 
here,  how  could  you  prevent  foreign  silver  from 
finding  its  way  across  our  borders,  as  it  has  done  in 
the  past  ?  Besides,  suppose  it  were  possible  to  suc- 
ceed in  such  a  restriction,  that  would  not  be  free 
coinage  at  all.  It  would  not  lift  silver  in  the 
markets  of  the  world ;  it  would  not  remove  the  dis- 
parity between  the  two  metals ;  it  would  not,  there- 


fore,,  carry  the  only  condition  upon  which  free  coin- 
age could  possibly  be  justified ;  it  would  simply 
enable  anybody  who  has  fifty  cents'  worth  of  silver 
bullion  to  take  it  to  the  mint  and  have  it  stamped 
one  hundred  cents,  or  take  it  to  the  Treasury,  which 
would  issue  its  note  for  it  and  force  you  and  me  to 
receive  it  for  a  dollar.  Are  the  American  people 
ready  for  that  amazing  folly  ? 

Free  coinage,  I  repeat,  means  that  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  buy  the  silver  of  the  world.  What  would 
be  the  effect  ?  Gold  coinage  would  immediately  stop. 
Who  would  bring  gold  to  be  coined  when  it  was 
undervalued  one  half?  We  should  pay  for  the  great 
influx  of  domestic  and  foreign  silver  in  notes  redeem- 
able in  coin.  The  notes  would  be  presented  and  gold 
demanded.  If  gold  were  paid  by  the  Treasury,  how 
long  under  this  great  demand  would  the  reserve  last  ? 
If  gold  were  refused  we  should  be  instantly  on  the 
silver  basis,  and  the  Treasury  notes  and  the  whole 
circulation  of  the  United  States  would  fall  to  the 
silver  level.  Under  such  conditions  gold  and  silver 
would  not  circulate  side  by  side.  Gold  would  go  to 
a  premium.  Every  dollar  would  be  locked  up  or 
exported.  The  government,  stripped  of  its  gold, 
would  be  forced  to  pay  its  creditors  in  silver,  and 
that  payment  would  reduce  us  at  once  to  the  silver 
standard.  There  is  thus,  under  free  coinage,  no 
escape  from  one  of  the  two  alternatives,  either 
that  we  must  by  our  action  alone  raise  the  silver 
of  the  world  to  the  gold  standard,  which  is  mani- 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  207 

festly  impossible,  or  we  must   drop  to  the  silver 

standard. 

This,  then,  being  clear,  we  come  to  the  next  ques- 
tion, What  does  the  silver  standard  mean  and  what 
would  be  its  effect  ?  This  question  involves  such 
broad  considerations  and  such  tremendous  conse- 
quences that  time  will  permit  me  to  touch  on  only  a 
few  of  them.  The  silver  dollar  is  now  intrinsically 
worth  fifty  cents.  It  passes  for  a  dollar  because,  by 
limited  coinage  and  full  exchangeability,  the  gov- 
ernment has  kept  it  at  par  with  gold.  Under  free 
coinage  it  would  be  worth  whatever  the  world  should 
rate  the  silver  in  it  as  worth.  It  might  be  fifty 
cents ;  it  might  be  more ;  it  might  be  less.  It  would- 
follow  all  the  fluctuations  of  a  varying  commodity, 
going  up  with  the  demand  and  going  down  after  the 
deluge.  It  would  still  be  called  a  dollar,  but  only 
because  the  real  dollar  unit  of  value  had  been  ex- 
pelled ;  and  it  would  be  a  dollar  in  fact  just  as  much 
as  if  we  were  to  lock  up  all  the  present  yard-sticks 
and  were  to  make  a  new  unit  of  length  consisting  of 
a  foot  and  a  half,  and  were  to  assume  that  calling  it 
a  yard  would  make  it  a  yard.  If  it  takes  ten  yards 
of  cloth  now  to  make  a  robe,  ten  yards  under  the 
new  unit  would  leave  the  costume  decidedly  decollete! 
Wage-earners  might  receive  as  many  nominal  dollars 
as  before,  but  the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar 
would  measurably  be  cut  in  two.  The  Mexican 
dollar  contains  more  silver  than  the  American  dollar  ; 
yet  the  American  silver  dollar  will  buy  twice  as 


208  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

much  in  Mexico  as  the  Mexican  silver  dollar.  The 
American  silver  dollar  is  quoted  in  London  at  100 
cents  and  the  Mexican  silver  dollar  at  about  50 
cents.  Why?  Because  Mexico  has  free  silver 
coinage  and  we  have  not ;  because  Mexico  is  on  the 
silver  basis  and  we  are  not.  But  the  free  coinage 
advocates  would  put  us  there,  and  so  put  our  dollar 
down  to  the  level  of  the  Mexican  dollar. 

The  serious  menace  of  such  a  change  would  bring 
on  a  great  financial  convulsion,  and  its  accomplish- 
ment would  involve  a  complete  economic  revolution. 
It  was  the  apprehension  of  going  to  the  silver  stand- 
ard that  largely  caused  the  monetary  panic  of  1893, 
and  any  real  impending  danger  of  such  a  catastrophe 
would  produce  a  financial  cataclysm  that  is  appalling 
to  contemplate.  It  would  excite  alarm  at  home  and 
abroad;  it  would  tumble  our  American  securities 
back  upon  us ;  it  would  dry  up  the  springs  of  credit, 
restrict  loans,  paralyze  enterprise,  cripple  trade  and 
industry,  halt  investments,  and  repeat  on  a  larger 
scale  the  bitter  experience  of  that  disastrous  crisis  of 
two  summers  ago.  Even  if  the  silver  standard  pre- 
sented the  advantages  which  some  extremists  profess 
to  think,  the  pathway  to  it  would  be  strewn  with  too 
many  wrecks  and  darkened  with  too  much  sorrow 
and  sadness  to  be  prudently  undertaken. 

But  suppose,  running  these  risks  and  making  these 
sacrifices,  we  had  plunged  to  the  silver  standard, 
what  then  ?  Practical  object  lessons  are  more  vivid 
and  convincing  than  theoretical  discussions.  Let  us 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  209 

take  a  few  object  lessons.     The  amount  of  deposits  in 

the  savings  banks  of  the  United  States  is  $1,747,- 
961,280,  and  the  number  of  depositors  4,777,687. 
The  average  to  each  depositor  is  $365.86.  The  silver 
standard  means  that  on  an  average  every  one  of  these 
nearly  five  million  people  deposited  $365,  each  dollar 
worth  100  cents  in  gold,  and  would  draw  out  $365 
in  silver,  each  worth  50  cents.  The  savings  of  the 
working  people  of  Pennsylvania  go  largely  into 
building  and  loan  associations.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  in  this  State  248,244  saving  bank  depositors,  with 
an  aggregate  deposit  of  $66,025,821,  and  an  average 
individual  deposit  of  $265.97.  The  silver  standard 
means  that  every  one  of  these  248,244  Pennsylva- 
nians  put  in  265  hard-earned  100-cent  dollars,  and 
would  draw  out  265  50-cent  dollars. 

Pennsylvania  has  1,239  building  associations, 
with  assets  amounting  to  $103,943,364,  and  a  total 
membership  of  272,580.  All  of  these  members  are,  in 
their  organized  capacity,  lenders,  and  each  is  in  turn 
a  borrower.  Each  is  a  capitalist,  and  belongs  to  the 
much-denounced  "  creditor  class "  to  the  extent  of 
$381.  These  associations  received  last  year  $43,432,- 
686,  and  divided  $12,933,970.  The  whole  system 
depends  on  the  value  of  the. assets  in  the  shape  of 
mortgages,  and  collapses  unless  that  is  sustained. 
On  the  silver  basis  these  272,580  persons,  all  wage- 
earners,  would  find  their  $103,943,364  cut  in  two, 
and  the  only  persons  who  would  get  any  compen- 
sation would  be  the  fraction  of  borrowers  at  that 


210  THE  MOXEY  STAXDAKD 

particular  time.  Take  another  illustration.  The 
aggregate  pension  disbursements  last  year  were 
$140,772,163.78,  and  the  number  of  pensioners 
969,544,  of  whom  754,382  are  the  gallant  invalid 
veteran  defenders  of  their  country,  and  215,162 
are  the  widows  or  orphans  of  Union  soldiers.  The 
payment  to  each  pensioner  thus  averaged  $144. 
The  number  of  pensioners  on  the  roll  of  the  pen- 
sion office  at  Philadelphia  is  57,749,  and  at  Pitts- 
burg  45,774,  a  total  of  103,523 — nearly  a  ninth  of 
the  whole  number  in  the  Union.  Under  the  silver 
standard  the  $144  going  on  an  average  to  each  of 
these  nearly  million  pensioners  would  be  50-cent 
dollars,  worth  72  real  dollars. 

Take  still  another  and  impressive  illustration. 
On  January  1st,  1894,  the  life  insurance  policies  in 
this  country  numbered  7,505,817,  representing  insur- 
ance of  $5,291,824,900,  and  assets  of  $919,310,131. 
Considering  wealth  and  population  together,  at  least 
an  eighth  of  this  insurance  is  held  in  Pennsylvania, 
or  say  1,000,000  policies — sometimes  more  than  one 
for  the  same  person — representing  $650,000,000  of 
insurance  and  $120,000,000  of  assets.  The  average 
amount  of  a  policy  is  $700,  and  so  the  great  mass  of 
policy-holders  are  persons  of  moderate  means.  The 
security  for  the  payment  of  this  vast  insurance  is 
two-fold :  first,  existing  assets,  either  mortgages  or 
shares  and  bonds,  and  their  value  or  income  would 
be  cut  in  two  by  going  to  the  silver  basis ;  second, 
fixed  annual  premium  payments,  and  their  purchas- 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  211 

ing  power  in  investments  would  be  halved,  since  the 
amount  was  fixed  on  the  gold  basis  and  would  be 
paid  on  the  silver  basis.  On  life  insurance  assets  75 
per  cent,  are  mortgages  or  shares  and  bonds,  and 
this  colossal  contract  for  the  future,  involving  in 
Pennsylvania  alone  nearly  1,000,000  policies  and 
$650,000,000  of  insurance,  would,  by  the  silver  stand- 
ard, be  depreciated  one-half  in  value. 

There  is  yet  another  and  momentous  danger. 
The  amount  of  American  securities  owned  abroad  is 
generally  placed  at  about  $2,000,000,000.  Speaking 
in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1893  of  t\ie  volume  of 
British  investments  outside  of  the  United  Kingdom 
Mr.  Gladstone  said:  "One  thousand  million  pounds 
would  probably  be  an  extremely  low  and  inade- 
quate estimate.  Two  thousand  millions — that  is, 
in  round  numbers,  ten  thousand  million  dollars — 
or  something  even  more  than  that,  is  very  likely  to 
be  nearer  the  mark."  Burdett's  Official  Intelli- 
gencer for  1894  places  the  aggregate  of  forejgn  secu- 
rities held  by  British  investors,  based  on  the  income 
tax  returns,  at  $3,819,035,000.  The  United  States  has 
one-half  the  railroads  and  telegraphs  of  the  world, 
and  it  has  a  fifth  of  the  British  foreign  trade.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  reasonable  presumption  that  some 
fraction  between  a  fifth  and  a  half  of  the  British 
foreign  holdings  are  American — some  figure  between 
$800,000,000  and  $1,900,000,000.  Add  other  Euro- 
pean holdings  and  the  aggregate  will  reach  $2,000,- 
000,000  or  over,  on  which  from  $60,000,000  to 


212 

$100,000,000  are  annually  paid  in  dividends  and 
interest.  This  amount  is  now  paid  in  dollars,  worth 
in  London  100  cents.  On  the  silver  basis  it  would 
be  paid  in  dollars,  worth  in  London  50  cents.  Under 
such  circumstances,  how  long  would  it  be  before 
these  securities  would  be  precipitated  upon  our 
market  with  all  the  consequences  of  such  a  move- 
ment? 

The  stock  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  aggre- 
gates $129,289,000.  Of  this  amount  forty-six  per 
cent.,  or  about  $60,000,000,  is  held  abroad.  Imagine 
the  effect  of  having  even  a  half  of  this  vast  propor- 
tion or  a  quarter  of  all  the  shares  of  the  Pennsylvania 
thrown  on  the  market !  This  would  be  inevitable 
unless  the  dividends  were  paid  in  gold,  and  to  do 
that  would  require  either  doubling  the  amount  set 
apart  or  halving  the  dividends.  Not  a  few  bonds  are 
made  specifically  payable  in  gold.  In  every  such 
case  it  would  take  just  as  much  money  to  pay  the 
premium  on  gold  as  would  be  available  for  the  divi- 
dend or  interest.  The  effect  on  all  railroads  may  be 
shown  by  a  single  illustration.  The  Illinois  Central 
pays  five  per  cent,  dividends.  This  takes  $2,500,000. 
Last  year  the  road  had  $2,963,275  available,  leaving 
a  surplus  of  $463,275.  Of  the  stock  about  forty  per 
cent,  is  held  abroad.  To  pay  the  foreign  stock- 
holders requires  $1,000,000.  If  they  are  paid  in 
gold  $2,000,000  would  be  required,  and  so  the  whole 
dividend  must  be  cut  down.  If  they  are  paid  in 
silver  the  value  abroad  will  be  cut  in  two  and  the 


THE  MOXEY  8T AMURD  213 

foreign  holder  will  sell.  How  can  such  a  situation 
fail  to  bring  a  crash  ? 

These  are  a  few  illustrations  of  what  isolated  free 
coinage  and  the  silver  standard  involve.  But  it  is 
claimed  that  if  we  were  on  the  silver  basis  we  should 
enjoy  great  advantages  in  foreign  commerce  and 
command  the  trade  of  the  silver  countries.  We 
should,  indeed,  put  ourselves  financially  upon  the 
level  of  Mexico,  and  China,  and  India,  but  with  what 
result  ?  The  imports  of  the  gold  standard  countries 
amount  to  over  $8,000,000,000  a  year,  and  those  of 
the  silver  standard  countries  to  less  than  $1,000,- 
000,000.  The  exports  of  the  gold  standard  countries 
reach  annually  $7,000,000,000,  and  those  of  the  silver 
standard  countries  only  $1,000,000,000.  Why  should 
we  abandon  the  advantages  of  the  former  in  a  struggle 
for  the  latter? 

During  the  last  fiscal  year  our  exports  to  Europe 
amounted  to  $690,000,000,  and  our  imports  to 
$274,600,000.  Here  was  a  balance  in  our  favor  of 
$415,000,000,  which  was  paid  or  credited  to  us  in 
gold  value.  During  the  same  time  our  exports  tc 
the  silver  countries  amounted  to  $42,000,000  ant! 
our  imports  to  $170,000,000,  Here  was  a  balance 
against  us  of  $128,000,000.  We  should  continue 
to  pay  this  sum  in  silver,  or  its  equivalent,  as  we 
do  now ;  but  why  should  we  be  so  idiotic  as  to 
put  ourselves  on  the  silver  basis  in  order  that  Europe 
may  pay  us  $415,000,000  a  year  in  silver  values  in- 
Btead  of  gold  values  ?  Why  should  we  upset  our 


214  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

monetary  medium  with  the  great  commercial  nations^ 
and  subject  our  commerce  to  the  incalculable  tax  and 
burden  and  depression  of  a  constantly  uncertain  and 
fluctuating  exchange  ? 

We. hear  men  talk  loosely  of  the  debtor  class  and 
the  creditor  class,  and  flippantly  reason  that  so- 
called  "  cheap  money  "  would  help  debtors  at  the 
expense  of  creditors.  Who  are  the  debtors  and 
who  are  the  creditors  ?  The  creditors  are  every 
depositor  in  a  savings  bank,  every  member  of  a 
Building  Association,  every  pensioner,  every  holder 
of  an  insurance  policy,  every  workiugman  who  has 
saved  anything  out  of  his  earnings  and  put  it  into 
institutions  or  investments,  dependent  upon  public 
security  and  honssty.  Borrowing  requires  credit. 
It  is  the  well-off,  not  the  poor,  who  borrow  most. 
The  borrowers  will  be  found  more  on  the  stock- 
market  than  on  the  farm  or  in  the  workshop.  If  a 
man  seeks  loans  for  legitimate  enterprise  or  needed 
development,  he  is  most  interested  in  maintaining 
the  public  credit  and  confidence,  which  makes  easy 
terms  and  low  rates.  What  he  wants  is  not  cheap 
money,  but  cheap  loans.  Repudiation  is  most  costly 
to  borrowers.  It  multiplies  the  risks  and  hardens 
the  conditions.  Depreciate  the  unit  of  value  and 
you  cheat  every  member  of  the  industrial  classes. 
The  great  body  of  workingrnen  would  be  the  worst 
sufferers.  Prices  on  a  silver  basis  would  advance, 
because  they  would  be  paid  in  debased  money,  but 
the  last  thing  to  rise  would  be  the  wages  of  labor, 


THE  MOXEY  STANDARD  315 

and  the  sons  of  toil,  to  whom  the  false  appeal  is  most 
cunningly  made,  should  be  the  most  determined  to 
resist  and  reject  it. 

The  depreciated  currency,  which  is  called  "  cheap 
money,"  but  which,  in  reality,  is  the  dearest,  is  the 
most  insidious  and  deadly  of  all  public  perils.  It 
deceives  and  deludes  the  unwary.  It  comes  in  at- 
tractive guise.  It  is,  as  has  been  said,  like  the  cub 
of  the  lioness,  described  by  the  Greek  poet,  which 
was  rashly  taken  by  the  hunter  into  his  house. 
When  it  was  young  it  was  fondled  by  the  children ; 
but  when  it  grew  and  felt  its  strength  it  deluged  the 
house  with  blood.  There  are  those  who  unthink- 
ingly fondle  this  young  financial  folly  ;  but  let  it  de- 
velop, and  it  will  fill  the  country  with  sorrow  and 
ruin.  The  dangers  of  the  silver  delusion  are  so 
clear  that  some  of  the  extremists  recoil  from  the 
abyss.  They  tell  us  they  have  not  advocated  inde- 
pendent free  coinage.  I  do  not  wonder  that  they 
shrink  from  their  own  conclusion.  But  their  record 
confronts  them.  They  have  voted  for  free  coinage. 
They  have  sustained  and  upheld  those  who  voted  for 
it.  They  have  denounced  those  who  did  not  accept 
it.  Their  argument  means  free  silver  coinage,  or  it 
means  nothing.  If  they  renounce  the  conclusion  let 
them  renounce  the  contention. 

INTERNATIONAL    BIMETALLISM. 

What,  then,   is  the  true  remedy  ?     To  find  the 
remedy  we  must  find  the  cause.     The  free  coinage 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

extremists  mistake  the  one,  and  so  misapply  the 
other.  They  begin  wrong,  argue  wrong,  and  end 
wrong.  They  charge  the  fall  of  silver  to  the  Act  of 
1873,  which  is  said  to  have  demonetized  it,  and  they 
say  it  has  not  been  restored  to  its  position  because 
we  have  not  done  enough  for  it.  But  the  Act  of 
1873  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  fall  of  silver  than 
the  last  eclipse  of  the  moon.  We  hadn't  any  silver 
to  demonetize.  We  had  coined  only  8,000,000 
silver  dollars  from  the  foundation  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  1873 
there  hadn't  been  a  dollar  in  circulation.  As  to 
our  subsequent  treatment  of  silver,  I  have  shown 
that  since  1873  we  have  done  seventy-two  times 
as  much  for  the  silver  dollar  as  we  did  in  all  our 
previous  history,  and  in  spite  of  this  silver  kept  on 
falling. 

What  has  caused  the  great  monetary  dislocation 
of  the  past  twenty  years  ?  It  was  not  the  demone- 
tization of  silver  in  the  United  States,  but  the  over- 
throw of  bimetallism  in  Europe.  We  had  practi- 
cally no  silver  coinage,  and  our  act  had  no  effect. 
Europe  had  $1,000,000,000  of  silver  coinage,  and 
her  proscription  of  silver  and  the  stoppage  of  her 
demand  brought  the  derangement.  For  nearly  two 
hundred  years  gold  and  silver  had  maintained  a  prac- 
tically steady  ratio.  The  production  of  the  two 
metals  had  fluctuated  in  the  most  remarkable  degree. 
During  the  first  forty-five  years  of  this  century  the 
output  of  silver  enormously  exceeded  that  of  gold. 


THE  MONEY  STANDARD  217 

During  the  next  twenty-five  years  the  conditions 
were  reversed,  and  the  output  of  gold  enormously 
exceeded  that  of  silver.  Within  the  quarter  of  a 
century  following  1850  the  mines  of  the  world 
poured  forth  as  much  gold  as  during  the  entire  pre- 
ceding three  centuries  and  a  half  from  the  discovery 
of  America  by  Columbus. 

Yet  through  these  extraordinary  changes  in  the 
relative  quantity  of  gold  and  silver  there  was  sub- 
stantially no  change  in  their  relative  value.  The 
steadying  influence  was  the  bimetallic  system.  Not 
all  of  the  nations,  indeed,  had  bimetallism.  Eng- 
land had  the  gold  standard  ;  Germany  and  Austria 
had  the  silver  standard  ;  France  and  her  associates 
of  the  Latin  Union  had  the  bimetallic  standard ;  and 
with  Germany's  silver  balancing  England's  gold, 
France  and  the  nations  of  the  Latin  Union  served  as 
what  Walter  Bagehot  called  "equalizing  machines," 
and  upheld  the  monetary  equilibrium.  In  1871, 
two  years  before  our  much-abused  and  unimportant 
Act  of  1873,  Germany  abandoned  the  silver  and 
adopted  the  gold  standard,  and  began  to  accumulate 
gold  and  sell  her  silver  coin.  Within  seven  years 
she  sold  $150,000,000  worth,  which  flowed  across  the 
borders  of  France  and  Belgium.  France  and  the 
Latin  Union  became  alarmed  and  closed  their  mints 
to  silver.  Holland  and  other  nations  followed.  The 
European  outlet  for  silver  was  cut  off.  At  the  same 
time  the  imports  of  silver  into  India  fell  from  100,- 
000,000  rupees  a  year  to  30,000,000.  While  the 


218  THE  MONEY  STANDAED 

• 

demand  was  thus  largely  reduced  the  supply  was 
largely  increased.  The  annual  production  of  silver 
was  more  than  doubled  just  as  this  restriction  of  its 
use  began,  and  it  kept  on  until  it  was  more  than 
quadrupled. 

Here  then  is  the  cause  of  the  monetary  disturb- 
ance and  here  lies  the  remedy.  The  uniformity  in 
the  relative  value  of  gold  and  silver  prior  to  1873 
was  maintained  by  the  bimetallic  system;  it  was 
broken  by  the  general  abandonment  of  that  policy ; 
and  it  can  only  be  reinstated  by  a  general  return. 
The  restoration  of  silver  must  come  through  the 
concurrent  action  of  the  commercial  nations.  The 
enlightened  opinion  of  the  world  recognizes  these 
truths.  The  entire  twelve  members  of  the  British 
Gold  and  Silver  Commission  agreed  that  it  was  the 
bimetallic  system  which  preserved  the  stable  ratio 
between  gold  and  silver  down  to  1873.  The  six 
gold  monometallist  members  agreed  that  bimetallism 
is  practical  and  desirable  for  other  nations  though 
they  hesitated  to  recommend  it  for  England.  The 
remaining  six  members  declared  themselves  unre- 
servedly for  bimetallism  by  international  agreement. 
Germany,  perceiving  the  great  mistake  she  made  in 
1871,  has  declared  for  an  international  conference. 
England,  impelled  by  the  distress  among  her  pro- 
ducing classes,  is  advancing  toward  this  policy. 
France  has  been  for  it  from  the  beginning.  The 
depression  of  Europe  urges  it. 

The  palpable  advantages  of  bimetallism  are  gain- 


MARK   HANNA. 


HON.   C.    H.    GROSVENOR 


THE  MONET  STANDARD  221 

ing  ground  for  it  every  day.  It  broadens  the  mone- 
tary basis  of  credit  and  enlarges  the  stock  of  available 
sound  money.  It  establishes  monetary  unity.  It 
makes  an  approximately  fixed  par  of  exchange  be- 
tween gold  and  silver  countries.  It  promotes  stability 
of  values.  It  minimizes  the  evils  of  an  appreciating 
metal  on  the  one  hand  or  of  a  depreciating  metal  on 
the  other.  The  restoration  of  this  system  is  the 
restoration  of  silver,  and  as  its  collapse  was  inter- 
national so  its  rehabilitation  must  be  international. 

What  is  our  true  American  policy  ?  We  do  not 
want  to  rest  upon  gold  alone  or  upon  silver  alone. 
We  want  the  joint  use  of  the  two  metals  upon  con- 
ditions which  will  make  every  dollar  as  good  as  every 
other  dollar  in  the  pockets  of  the  people,  and  in  the 
markets  of  the  world.  We  want  the  re-establish- 
ment on  a  broader  scale  of  that  bimetallic  system 
which  for  seventy  years,  through  the  severest  strains, 
through  periods  when  the  silver  output  was  three 
times  as  great  in  value  as  the  gold,  and  through 
periods  when  the  gold  output  was  nearly  five  times 
as  great  as  the  silver,  still  kept  them  at  a  stable  ratio 
and  maintained  the  monetary  equilibrium  of  the 
nations.  To  accomplish  this  result  it  is  our  duty  to 
set  our  faces  like  adamant  against  the  independent 
free  coinage  which  would  indefinitely  postpone  bi- 
metallism and  simply  plunge  us  upon  the  silver 
basis.  We  ought  to  learn  from  our  own  experience. 
We  have  done  more  to  promote  the  growth  in  Europe 
of  a  demand  for  international  bimetallism  since  we 


222  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

stopped  the  purchase  of  silver  in  1893  than  we  did 
during  all  the  years  when  we  were  buying  $600,- 
000,000  of  silver.  So  long  as  we  alone  were  carrying 
the  burden  Europe  smiled  and  remained  passive. 
When  we  had  sense  enough  to  stop  Europe  began  to 
be  aroused  to  the  necessity  of  action. 

Let  us  emphasize  that  lesson.  Let  us  say  to 
Europe  by  our  acts  as  well  as  by  our  words :  "  We 
desire  international  bimetallism;  we  believe  the 
business  of  the  world  will  be  better  for  the  broadest 
use  of  both  metals,  but  the  initiative  now  rests  with 
you." 

INCREASED   DEMAND   FOR   GOLD. 

Bad  as  the  present  situation  is,  we  can  stand  it  as 
long  as  you  can.  We  know  the  German  agricultur- 
ists are  crying  out  for  relief.  We  know  the  Lan- 
cashire cotton-spinners  are  in  distress  and  all  the 
Indian  exchanges  are  in  confusion.  We  are  ready 
to  join  you  in  an  international  agreement  for  the 
restoration  of  bimetallism ;  but  if  you  are  not  ready 
and  if  it  is  to  be  a  struggle  for  gold  we  are  going  to 
meet  you  on  that  ground.  Your  London  market 
was  shaken  when  Mr.  Vishnegradski  boldly  went  in 
and  bought  $70,000,000  of  gold  to  build  up  Eussian 
credit.  You  were  watchful  and  solicitous  when 
Austria  began  to  buy  gold  to  rehabilitate  her 
finances.  You  replaced  that  treasure  by  drawing  on 
Us.  We  know  that  France  has  wisely  acquired 


THE  MOXEY  STANDARD 

$200,000,000  of  gold  while  we  have  foolishly  parted 
with  that  amount.  But  we  are  richer  and  stronger, 
more  self-sustaining  and  more  powerful  in  resources 
than  the  greatest  of  your  nations;  and  if  you  are 
not  prepared  for  bimetallism  and  if  it  is  to  be  a  con- 
test for  the  accumulation  of  gold,  then  we  give  notice 
that  we  are  going  into  the  markets  of  the  world  to 
buy  $100,000,000  or  $500,000,000  if  necessary,  in 
order  to  take  care  of  ourselves.  Such  a  notice 
would  settle  the  question  inside  of  six  months. 
Europe  would  seek  a  conference  and  international 
agreement  would  follow.  That  is  the  solution  of  the 
question.  Independent  free  coinage  is  the  pathway 
to  the  single  silver  basis  and  to  untold  calamity. 
The  restoration  of  bimetallism  through  international 
agreement  is  the  pathway  to  honor,  safety,  and  pros- 
perity. 

A   DANGEROUS   HERESY. 

I  am  not  wishing  to  raise  any  personal  issue  ;  but 
I  desire  from  a  profound  sense  of  public  duty,  to 
resist  a  false  and  dangerous  policy,  and  to  sound  a 
solemn  warning  against  any  attempt  to  commit  our 
own  people  to  a  course  of  dishonor  and  disaster.  It 
is  not  the  first  time  there  has  been  a  proposal  that 
we  should  falter  in  our  devotion  to  honest  money 
and  true  public  faith.  There  was  un  hour  when 
the  delusion  of  inflated  and  depreciated  paper  seized 
upon  some  minds,  as  the  delusion  of  inflated  and 
depreciated  silver  seizes  upon  them  now.  It  was 


224  THE  MONEY  STANDARD 

kindred  in  motive  and  inspiration  and  peril.  There 
were  men  then  as  now  who  were  disposed  to  palter 
with  it.  But  a  distinguished  leader  of  Republican- 
ism boldly  met  the  heresy  on  the  platform  and  the 
integrity  and  rectitude  of  our  people  were  preserved. 
Let  us  confront  and  confound  the  present  heresy 
and  danger  with  the  same  determination  and  fidelity. 
Let  us  stand  inflexibly  for  the  honest  money  which 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  business  security  and  in 
which  every  dollar,  whether  of  gold  or  silver  or 
paper,  shall  have  full  exchangeable  equality  with 
every  other  dollar. 

The  admirable  historical  summary  and  argument 
of  Mr.  Smith  may  be  fitly  supplemented  by  the  state- 
ment that  the  statistics  of  gold  production  empha- 
size all  that  he  has  said  respecting  the  influences  that 
affect  the  value  of  precious  metals,  and  the  difficulties 
and  limitations  of  bimetallism.  The  production  of 
gold  has  reached  the  enormous  and  unprecedented 
sum  of  $200,000,000  a  year.  The  truth  is  the  in- 
creased demand  for  gold  in  the  richest  and  most  ad- 
vanced nations  has,  according  to  the  ancient  irre- 
futable precepts  and  irrepealable  laws  of  political 
economy,  augmented  the  supply,  so  that  it  is  only  not 
improbable,  but  almost  certain,  that  there  will  be  of 
new  gold  added  to  the  money  of  the  world  during  the 
McKinley  administration  of  four  years  one  thousand 
million  dollars.  The  peculiarity  of  the  golden 
inflation,  as  was  seen  in  California  good  times,  is  that 
it  harms  no  one  and  helps  everybody.  It  cheers,  but 


THE  MOXEY  STANDARD  225 

does  not  inebriate.  It  is  wholesome  inspiration  and 
advancement,  and  there  is  no  depression,  no  reaction. 
While  we  maintain  the  existing  standard,  resisting 
all  extremists,  disregarding  factions,  supporting  with 
the  credit  of  the  nation  the  parity  of  the  white  and 
yellow  money  metals  at  the  ratio  familiar  in  our 
affairs,  we  shall  follow  the  example  of  bimetallic 
France  and  close  the  mints  firmly  to  the  coinage  of 
legal  tender  silver.  We  have  all  of  that  sort  of 
money  we  can  make  good.  There  is  to  be  no  more 
free  coinage  of  silver — that  is  fundamental.  The 
tendency  of  the  gold  production  is  to  the  settlement 
of  the  silver  questions  according  to  the  operation  of 
the  laws  and  economics  of  nature,  leaving  less  and 
less  to  be  determined  by  the  legislative  wisdom  found 
in  the  government.  We  have  only  to  stand  solidly, 
as  we  are,  for  honesty  and  economy,  to  find  the  very 
soil  of  controversy  removed,  and  our  feet  on  the 
rocks  that  have  resisted  the  billows  of  the  oceans 
and  the  stormy  skies  for  all  the  millenniums  of  which 
there  are  records  of  men. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

WILLIAM   McKINLEY    AS   A   CAMPAIGNER. 

Speaking  to  fifteen  millions  of  people  —  Making  one  thousand 
speeches— Constitution  of  iron — Wondrous  vitality — Magnetic 
power — Excellent  memory — Good  listener — Making  converts — 
Policy  of  Protection  the  hope  of  America. 

IN  the  past  six  years  William  McKinley  has  been 
constantly  in  battle.  There  has  been  no  rest 
for  him.  It  has  been  a  continued  campaign, 
in  which  he  was  the  central  figure.  Beginning  with 
the  impossible  contest  for  re-election  to  Congress  in 
the  gerrymandered  district  and  continuing  through 
the  gubernatorial  canvass  of  1891,  the  Congressional 
campaign  of  1892,  the  second  fight  for  the  governor- 
ship in  1893,  the  great  Congressional  contest  of  1894, 
the  Ohio  campaign  of  1895,  and  the  preliminary 
struggle  of  1896,  Major  McKinley  has  been  under 
an  increasing  strain. 

In  that  period  he  has  probably  spoken  to  more 
than  fifteen  millions  of  people,  and  shaken  hands 
with  a  million  and  a  half  more,  and  made  a  thou- 
sand speeches,  averaging  an  hour  in  length.  Such 
was  a  task  to  make  any  man  shrink,  to  test  the  nerve, 

226 


McKIXLEY   AS    CAMPAIGNER  227 

the  physical  endurance,  and  the  vocal  powers ;  but 
Major  McKiiiley  went  through  it  all  without  the 
least  symptom  of  illness,  though  he  was  often  wearied 
and  worn.  The  ex-Governor  has  a  constitution  of 
iron,  great  recuperative  powers,  the  ability  to  sleep 
under  uncomfortable  conditions,  to  eat  without  care 
all  sorts  of  food  at  all  hours,  and  to  digest  it  well,  to 
drink  waters  that  are  ordinarily  unhealthy  without 
disastrous  results.  He  has  a  surprising  power,  that 
comes  to  his  rescue  when  it  would  seem  as  if  he  could 
do  nothing  more.  He  has  a  wondrous  vitality,  ex- 
cellent lungs,  and  great  vocal  power.  Instead  of 
breaking  from  constant  use  his  voice  seems  to  gain 
in  strength  and  volume. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  way  he  begins  a  speech. 
The  hall  is  always  filled  when  he  is  booked  to  talk. 
It  usually  happens  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  him  into 
the  hall,  because  of  the  crowds  on  the  outside.  The  mo- 
ment he  appears  oft  a  platform  is  a  signal  for  pro- 
longed and  vehement  cheering.  His  face  flushes  a  little 
and  his  eyes  flash.  He  breathes  quickly  and  compresses 
his  lips,  the  lines  around  the  mouth  taking  promi- 
nence. He  brushes  the  hair  back  from  his  forehead 
with  a  nervous  hand.  Though  outwardly  composed, 
it  appears  to  those  who  know  him  that  he  is  a  little 
anxious  and  a  bit  apprehensive,  possibly  almost 
alarmed.  It  is  worthy  of  note  when  he  steps  on  a 
platform  and  is  greeted  with  enthusiasm,  he  bows  low 
and  waves  his  hands  from  side  to  side.  The  silk  hat 
is  always  in  the  right  hand,  the  brim  firmly  gripped. 


228 

This  is  generally  ruffled,  for  at  the  moment  he  forgets 
that  it  gets  pressed.  The  bowing  continues  until  the 
fury  of  the  reception  shows  a  sign  of  abatement.  For 
the  last  four  years  almost  every  chairman  of  a  meet- 
ing has  introduced  him  as  "  the  next  President."  To 
those  who  campaigned  with  him  this  became  some- 
what of  a  joke,  and  there  were  bets  made,  the  odds 
being  always  two  to  one  that  would  be  the  introduc- 
tion. Now  the  chairman  of  a  political  meeting  is 
generally  a  man  of  consequence  in  the  neighborhood 
where  the  meeting  is  held.  The  opportunity  of  in- 
troducing such  an  orator  as  McKinley  does  not  come 
often,  and  every  chairman  takes  advantage  of  it.  It 
is  amusing  to  note  the  expression  of  McKinley's  face 
when  the  introduction  is  prolonged.  He  frowns 
almost  imperceptibly.  Only  one  who  has  studied 
his  countenance  would  notice  it.  There  follows  a 
look  of  weariness  and  then  of  impatience.  He  moves 
his  feet  a  little  and  is  restless.  The  strain  is  becoming 
painful  to  hear  and  the  compliments  dreary.  They 
have  been  repeated  probably  twice  before  on  the 
same  day,  and  it  is  not  often  that  anything  of  keen 
interest  is  said.  When  the  inevitable  "  next  Presi- 
dent" comes  the  Major's  face  is  impassive.  One 
would  not  know  from  his  attitude  that  the  refer- 
ence was  to  him.  He  does  not  seem  to  hate  it,  but 
would  as  leave  it  was  omitted. 

Finally  the  chairman  has  come  to  the  "  Fellow  cit- 
izens, I  have  the  great  pleasure,  etc.,"  and  McKinley 
steps  forward  and  there  are  cheers.  The  speaker 


AS   CAMPAIGNER  229 

clasps  his  hands  behind  him  and  bows  right  and 
left,  to  the  pit  and  to  the  gallery.  He  moves  his 
hand  to  still  -  the  enthusiasts  and  begins.  He  has 
discovered  whether  there  are  women  present  and 
then  in  a  voice  almost  inaudible  says,  "  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen.  My  fellow  citizens."  The  opening  sen- 
tence is  always  a  striking  one.  It  is  spoken  in  a  low 
tone.  Someone  in  the  rear  of  the  hall  or  at  the 
edge  of  the  crowd  says  "  Louder !  "  and  there  are 
many  sounds  of  "  Shu  1"  McKinley  pays  no  atten- 
tion to  the  interruption  except  to  wave  one  hand 
again.  The  voice  of  the  orator  becomes  stronger 
and  in  ten  sentences  the  words  ring  and  reach  every 
corner  of  the  hall.  The  audience  is  leaning  forward 
eager  to  catch  every  word. 

As  he  proceeds  the  Major  warms.  He  gesticu- 
lates with  both  hands.  He  hits  the  air  a  little  to 
emphasize  a  point  and  while  his  attitude  is  unstudied 
it  is  graceful.  He  owns  the  crowd  now.  It  is  hyp- 
notized by  his  eloquence.  His  hair  grows  damp 
with  perspiration.  Possibly  a  dark  lock  will  stray 
over  his  forehead.  It  is  impatiently  brushed  back 
and  the  sweep  of  a  handkerchief  cools  the  brow. 
His  eyes  are  flashing  fire.  His  breast  heaves  with 
the  storm.  His  voice  rushes  from  between  his  teeth 
and  his  lips  are  compressed  as  he  finishes  a  word. 
His  tones  are  pitched  in  a  higher  key.  There  is  a 
metallic  tone  in  the  voice  and  yet  it  is  musical.  His 
bearing  is  impassioned.  He  has  forgotten  self  and 
is  regardless  of  everything  but  his  subject.  One 


230  McKINLEY   AS   CAMPAIGNER 

perceives  that  he  is  sincere  in  what  he  says.  Every 
one  sees  that  he  is  in  deadly  earnest,  that  this  is  no 
shain  passion  but  the  real  thing.  His  words  pierce 
the  air  defiantly  and  it  is  astonishing  any  creature 
can  fail  of  conviction.  The  audience  has  grown  in- 
tense in  its  interest.  Many  forget  to  cough  or  move. 
They  are  absorbed  and  their  little  selfishnesses  are 
neglected.  Every  now  and  then  some  deep  voice 
says  "  That  is  so  I"  or  utters  an  "Amen."  His  com- 
panions who  have  heard  him  a  hundred  times  are  as 
interested  as  those  who  are  hearing  him  for  the  first 
time.  There  is  no  resisting  the  earnestness  of  the 
orator,  for  all  his  soul  and  strength  are  in  the  speech. 
There  will  be  nothing  more  serious  in  the  sound  of 
the  last  trumpet.  Some  one  may  interrupt  to  ask  a 
question,  to  try  to  "  stump  him,"  to  catch  him  un- 
awares. McKinley  is  so  discussing  his  subject  that 
he  fails  to  hear  what  is  said.  He  stops  and  looks  in 
the  direction  of  the  ground  and  then  says  sharply, 
"  What's  that  ?"  The  audience  cries  "  Put  him  out." 
"  No,  no,"  says  McKinley,  "  let  him  ask  his  question. 
Never  put  any  one  out."  Probably  the  question  is 
repeated.  There  is  no  hesitancy  in  the  answer. 
The  Major  is  ready.  He  turns  a  laugh  on  the  ques- 
tioner by  his  flashing  reply.  He  takes  no  mean 
advantage,  but  answers  the  question  frankly.  Gen- 
erally his  reply  is  epigrammatic.  It  always  is  com- 
plete. 

Major  McKinley  has  dramatic  power  and  a  mag- 
netism as  a  speaker.    In  describing  scenes  he  pictures 


McKINLEY    AS   CAMPAIGXEK  231 

realistically.  The  old  soldiers  are  always  impressed 
when  he  refers  to  them.  Again  and  again  he  has 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  veterans  when  he 
has  told  of  the  horrors  of  war.  Old  men  sob  like 
children  and  there  is  scarcely  a  dry  eye  in  the  multi- 
tude. There  is  a  sincerity  in  his  tributes  to  soldiers 
that  is  convincing.  He  has  been  there.  He  knows 
what  he  is  talking  about.  Though  of  any  one  else 
his  talk  of  the  war  might  be  called  stagey,  that  criti- 
cism is  never  made  of  McKinley.  No  one  would 
dare  to  do  so,  because  it  would  be  untrue.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  find  a  speaker  who  has  a  better 
grasp  of  the  subject,  whether  finance,  protection, 
arbitration  or  foreign  affairs.  His  talk  is  always 
illustrative  and  comprehensible  and  instructive.  It 
is  serious.  There  are  no  anecdotes  to  amuse.  The 
orator  does  not  convince  by  raising  laughs,  but  rather 
by  the  indisputability  of  statements.  It  is  a  grave 
matter  this  campaigning  with  him.  It  is  a  mission, 
not  a  jest;  an  attempt  to  convert,  not  to  please. 
Neither  does  he  arouse  passion  or  opposition  by 
assaults  or  trivial  personalities.  He  assumes  that 
those  who  disagree  with  him  are  sincere,  as  he  is,  and 
seeks  to  relieve  them  of  their  error. 

When  he  has  finished,  no  matter  how  hot  the  day, 
McKinley  puts  on  two  overcoats,  one  light  and  the 
other  of  gray  cloth,  without  sleeves,  but  with  a  cape. 
He  buttons  these  around  him  to  keep  from  catching 
cold.  He  thinks  it  well  to  let  the  perspiration  flow 
freely  for  a  while  and  then  when  he  gets  privacy 


232  McKINLEY   AS   CAMPAIGNER 

rubs  himself  well  and  puts  on  dry  clothes.  Exposed 
as  he  is  in  campaigns  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
weather,  he  must  have  a  care  not  to.  get  a  chill,  and  it 
is  recorded  that  he  was  never  incapacitated  from 
speaking  by  bronchial  troubles. 

Major  McKinley  remembers  faces  well.  He  gen- 
erally recalls  a  name,  and  when  on  a  campaign  he  is 
certain  to  meet  old  friends,  and  the  result  is  pleasing 
to  both.  He  talks  easily  and  freely  with  them  and 
is  entirely  without  assumption  of  superiority.  He  is 
approachable  always.  It  is  the  custom  when  a  cam- 
paign is  made  for  the  speaker  to  be  assigned  to  the 
best  hotel,  or  to  go  to  some  private  house — it  being 
preferable  to  lodge  at  a  hotel.  There  is  always  a 
committee  of  reception  of  citizens  who  have  done 
such  good  service  to  the  party  as  deserves  that  honor, 
or  whose  position  in  the  community  makes  it  well  to 
recognize  them.  Such  a  committee  meets  McKinley 
at  the  station  and  of  course  there  is  a  band.  When 
the  campaign  is  in  such  a  State  as  Ohio,  the  band  in 
the  smaller  towns  is  a  great  institution.  It  is  the 
pride  of  the  community.  Unfortunately  the  bands 
pay  more  attention  to  securing  uniforms  and  keeping 
their  instruments  glistening  than  they  do  to  har- 
mony. The  result  is  sometimes  not  alluring.  They 
often  play  the  same  tunes.  An  air  has  a  sudden 
popularity  and  the  band  must  play  it.  The  sounds 
they  make  and  the  repetition  of  them  add  to  the 
labors  of  the  campaigners.  Major  McKinley,  who 
has  a  good  ear  for  music,  always  displays  great  self- 


AS   CAMPAIGNER  233 


control.  He  never  winces,  no  matter  how  hard  the 
music  tires  him.  Of  course  he  would  say  nothing 
about  it,  unless  some  one  would  mention  —  say  a 
citizen  of  the  community  who  had  supported  the 
band  —  "  It  is  a  pretty  good  band."  The  Major  then 
smiles  as  if  in  assent,  but  he  never  commits  himself 
further.  If  he  nods  it  is  sufficient  and  the  baud  is 
held  in  higher  esteem  than  ever. 

It  is  interesting  in  campaigning  to  observe  how 
anxious  McKinley  is  for  information.  When  he 
comes  to  a  town  he  listens  to  the  talk  of  the  politi- 
cians, to  their  statements  of  crop  conditions,  and  of 
local  affairs.  Then  information  is  drawn  out  regard- 
ing their  industries.  McKinley  never  cross-ques- 
tions his  informers.  He  simply  listens,  and  he  is  a 
mighty  good  listener.  He  says  only  what  is  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  stream  of  talk  flowing.  At  the 
meeting  held  immediately  afterward  it  would  be  seen 
that  the  talk  had  been  digested  —  that  the  orator  had 
gained  from  the  conversation  much  to  use  to  give  a 
touch  of  local  color,  and  to  make  plain  his  general 
arguments. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  those  who  choose  to  op- 
pose Major  McKinley,  or  to  belittle  him,  to  say  he 
can  only  make  one  speech.  This  is  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  truth.  If  he  is  arguing  on  the  tariff, 
in  a  campaign,  he  must  do  so.  The  basis  of  the 
speech  is  necessarily  the  same.  The  language  and 
the  illustrations  are  varied.  He  continually  adds 
ideas  and  arguments,  new  epigrammatic  phrases,  and 


234  McKINL'EY  AS   CAMPAIGNEK 

makes  the  theme  constantly  interesting,  even  to  com- 
panions in  the  campaign.  It  was  always  instructive 
to  notice  how  he  develops  thought — builds  around  it, 
and  makes  it  effective. 

The  Major  never  seemed  to  get  tired,  no  matter 
how  trying  the  toil.  He  outlasts  those  who  accom- 
pany him.  He  is  always  the  first  up  in  the  morning, 
though  often  the  last  to  retire ;  cheerful  and  patient, 
accepting  what  was  set  before  him  with  gratitude. 
He  seems  somehow  to  have  the  knack  of  making 
everybody  around  him  at  home,  and  is  accessible  to 
everybody. 

When  traveling  on  a  train  he  would  naturally 
meet  the  brakemen  and  conductors,  and  they  seemed 
to  feel  that  he  was  one  of  them.  They  approach  him 
with  friendly  familiarity.  They  sit  down  by  him, 
crowd  the  aisles  to  talk  with  him,  and  go  away  proud 
of  having  met  the  great  protectionist.  It  is  seldom 
that  one  of  them  fails  to  thank  him  for  his  services 
to  the  industries  of  the  country,  or  to  wish  him  good 
luck.  When  waiting  for  a  train  he  talks  with  the 
baggage  man  or  station  agent,  or  with  those  who 
waited  to  see  him  ofi\  always  gaining  knowledge  of 
existing  conditions,  and  it  was  the  better  because 
from  those  who  gained  it  by  personal  experience. 
He  knew  what  the  workingmen  thought  as  he  did 
what  the  idea  of  the  business  men  was. 

On  one  occasion,  early  in  the  campaign  of  1893 
in  Ohio,  the  Governor  and  the  newspaper  men  who 
accompanied  him  came  to  a  small,  unprepossessing 


McKIXLEY  AS    CAMPAIGNER  235 

place.  It  was  raining  when  the  party  arrived.  The 
arrangements  were  poor,  and  there  was  only  one  car- 
riage, and  the  committee,  to  be  with  the  Governor, 
got  in  with  him.  The  other  members  of  the  party 
had  to  walk. 

The  Governor  happened  to  overhear  some  of  his 
party  complaining  rather  angrily  of  the  treatment 
accorded  them.  Quietly  calling  them  aside,  he  said  : 
"  Well,  suppose  you  are  dissatisfied ;  the  committee 
did  the  best  it  could.  The  hotel  is  the  best  in  town  ; 
we  have  been  treated  as  well  as  the  people  could. 
Remember  that  they  do  not  understand  that  what 
they  have  done  is  not  pleasing.  Remember  that 
wherever  we  go  we  will  get  the  best  that  the  com- 
munity affords.  What  more  can  you  expect?" 
Thereafter  there  were  no  complaints,  the  lesson  had 
been  a  wholesome  one.  Major  McKinley,  in  cam- 
paigning, always  had  an  eye  to  the  feelings  of  the 
people.  In  one  campaign  the  party  came  to  a  town 
on  the  border  of  Indiana.  The  people  are  religiously 
inclined.  While  waiting  for  the  meeting  there  was 
nothing  to  do,  so  some  of  the  party  set  about  to 
amuse  themselves  by  playing  "horse."  McKinley  sent 
for  them,  and  told  them  the  effect  it  was  having,  and 
they  stopped.  A  campaign  is  a  serious  thing  for 
him.  Cordial  and  friendly,  and  even  jovial  at  times, 
he  would  permit  nothing  that  looked  like  levity 
touching  serious  things.  Once  something  detained 
him  while  his  party  was  on  the  stand  waiting  for  the 
meeting  to  begin.  One  of  the  gubernatorial  crowd 


236  McKIKLEY  AS    CAMPAIGNER 

had  a  habit  of  pushing  himself  forward,  securing  the 
most  conspicuous  place.  The  members  of  the  press 
assigned  to  follow  the  Governor  in  the  campaign 
had  noticed  this,  and  the  opportunity  seemed  to 
have  arrived  for  a  little  fun  at  the  expense  of  the 
pusher.  A  cry  was  started  for  him  to  speak.  Soon 
the  people  on  the  stand  caught  on,  and  the  cry 
increased  in  volume.  Just  then  McKinley  came, 
and  as  he  stepped  to  the  front  he  turned  and  asked 
sternly,  "Who  did  this?"  It  was  explained  that 
the  forward  one  had  expressed  a  wish  to  speak,  and 
that  the  opportunity  seemed  to  have  been  afforded 
him,  but  the  Major  was  not  appeased.  In  campaigns 
there  are  many  glee  clubs.  There,  is  one  at  almost 
every  meeting.  The  songs  which  rang  with  his 
name  never  seemed  to  displease  the  Governor.  Ha 
would  beat  time  and  nod  his  head,  and  his  silk  hat 
got  hard  treatment. 

In  the  campaign  of  1893  in  Ohio  and  that  of 
1894,  which  the  Governor  made  in  sixteen  States  in 
a  month  and  a  half,  he  was  always  finding  new  con- 
verts to  Republicanism,  made  so  by  Democratic  in* 
competence  and  tariff  tinkering.  Never  was  he  so 
pleased  as  when  such  a  convert  would  grasp  his  hand 
and  pledge  his  support  to  the  Republican  party.  To 
McKinley  the  policy  of  protection  is  the  hope  of 
America,  and  everything  that  shows  a  growth  in  its 
favor  delights  him.  The  convert  was  always  asked 
to  give  the  point  that  converted  him,  and  it  was 
used  by  McKinley  in  his  next  speech. 


HON.    GEORGE   F.    HOAR. 


HON.   W.   B.   ALLISON. 


MeKIHLEY   AS   CAMPAIGNER  339 

Ji  is  jtiard  enough  to  deliver  a  speech.  It  is  suf- 
ficiently wearying  to  go  through  the  muscular  part 
of  it ;  it  is  trying  on  the  nerves  to  be  constautly^eyed 
up  to  the  point  necessary  to  such  speeches  as.Mc- 
Kinley  makes  ;  but  worse  is  the  hand-shaking  that 
follows,  which,  if  the  speaker  be  popular — and  of 
course  McKinley  suffered  more  through  this  than 
in  any  other  way.  He  shook  hands  with  at  least  four 
hundred  people  every  day  during  the  Ohio  campaign 
of  1893.  He  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  but  it  wore  on  him. 
It  became  necessary  to  stop  often.  The  members  of 
the  audience  would  clamber  on  a  platform  and  fairly 
mob  the  Governor  in  attempting  to  shake  his  hand. 
Sometimes  a  scheme  was  worked,  but  not  often.  A 
friend  would  stand  behind  the  governor  and  thrust 
his  hands  under  McKinley's  arms.  The  Governor 
would  hold  his  at  his  side,  and  the  friend  take  the 
cruel  grip  of  those  who  in  their  enthusiasm  forgot 
how  strong  they  really  were.  After  trying  this  once 
or  twice  McKinley  declined  to  permit  "  such  a  fraud 
to  be  practiced."  It  was  always  hard  to  get  McKin- 
ley to  bed.  He  would  get  into  a  talk  with  friends 
after  a  meeting,  and  he  would  not  dismiss  them,  for 
he  was  too  polite.  The  only  thing  that  could  be  done 
was  to  go  to  his  room,  open  one's  watch  and  say, 
"  Governor,  you  have  to  get  up  at  five,  and  it  is  now 
midnight."  That  sent  the  crowd  away.  The  most 
noticeable  thing  about  McKinley  as  a  campaigner  is 
his  indefatigability.  He  makes  two  speeches  of  an 
hour  and  a  half  each  and  two  others  of  from  five  to 


240  McKINLEY  AS   CAMPAIGNER 

ten  minutes,  day  in  and  day  out.  In  his  earnestness, 
his  enthusiasm,  his  versatility,  his  eloquence,  his 
magnetic  power  over  an  audience,  and  his  dramatic 
force,  he  stands  unequaled. 


McKINLEY's  ADVICE  TO  BOYS. 

TLe  enterprising  boy— Interviewing  Major  McKinley— Boys'  own 
account  of  it — Painting  up  the  town — Looks  like  Napoleon- 
Fatherly  advice — An  important  question. 

A  FEW  weeks  ago  an  errand-boy  in  the  New 
York  World  became  interesting  through  his 
anxiety  to  become  a  great  man,  and  to  find 
out  how  to  do  it  by  talking  with  great  men  and  gaining 
instruction  with  a  view  to  his  education,  the  man- 
aging editor  had  a  happy  thought  that  the  boy 
might  become  an  interviewer,  and  sent  him,  accom- 
panied by  a  reporter,  to  the  most  accessible  of  great 
men,  Mr.  Chauncey  Depew.  After  the  conversation 
it  turned  out  there  was  no  occasion  for  the  reporter's 
notes  or  his  literary  skill.  The  memory  of  the  boy 
was  perfect,  and  he  had  a  quaint,  simple  way  of  put- 
ting things  that  was  attractive.  The  boy  was  a  suc- 
cess, and  he  was  sent  to  interview  Major  McKinley, 
and  the  result  is  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  Repub- 
lican candidate  in  his  home,  and  a  talk  from  him 
that  every  boy  in  America  should  read  many  times, 

241 


243 

and  that  is  worthy  to  go  into  the  school-books  as  a 
marvel  of  manly  talk  to  a  boy. 

i  The  boy  went  out  to  McKinley's  home  in  Canton, 
O.,  from  New  York  City,  was  received  cordially,  and 
the  statesman  gave  more  than  a  half  hour  of  his  time, 
while  a  half  dozen  politicians  stood  on  the  piazza 
clamoring  for  admittance. 

The  boy's  report  of  his  half  hour  with  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  follows  : 

"  I  have  been  down  to  Ohio  to  see  Mr.  McKinley, 
the  big  Republican.  As  I  have  visited  many  men 
who  are  great,  and  as  Mr.  McKinley  seems  to  be  the 
greatest  of  all  at  present,  I  wanted  to  see  him  bad,  so 
I  took  a  call  on  him  at  Canton,  Ohio,  the  town  he 
lives  in. 

"  When  a  man  gets  big  like  him  he  ought  to  be 
able  to  tell  boys  how  to  become  great  to,  so  I  thought 
It  would  pay  me  to  go  down  there  and  ask  of  him 
some  advice  on  How  a  young  boy  can  start  in  life  and 
become  a  great  man. 

"  Canton  isn't  as  big  a  town  as  New  York,  and 
everybody  in  the  place  knows  Mr.  McKinley  and  the 
family. 

"  It  isn't  easy  to  ask  Major  McKinley  things  for 
the  newspapers,  I  knew  that  before  I  started,  so  I 
found  Mr.  Boyle,  his  private  secretary,  and  told  him 
I  was  the  boy  reporter  for  the  Sunday  World,  and  all 
the  boys  wanted  to  hear  about  Mr.  McKinley,  and 
would  he  please  fix  it  so  I  could  see  him.  Mr.  Boyle 
was  a  newspaper  man  and  he  knew  all  about  it,  so  I 


McKTXLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS  243 

told  him  I  didn't  want  to  talk  politics,  and  that  1 
wanted  to  ask  Mr.  McKinley  how  I  or  other  boys 
could  get  to  be  as  famous  as  he  was. 

"  Then  Mr.  Boyle  laughed,  and  said  that  Major 
McKinley  was  a  very  busy  man  all  the  time,  but  as 
he  liked  boys  awful  well,  I  might  call  around  to  his 
house  and  see  him  in  the  morning.  As  I  had  come 
all  the  way  from  New  York,  and  wanted  to  do  so,  so 
much. 

"  Then  I  was  glad.  So  when  morning  came  I  got 
up  early  and  started  for  Mr.  McKinley's  house,  one 
thing  struck  me  awfully  funny  on  the  road  their  it 
was  that  they  were  painting  all  the  telegraph  poles, 
and  everything  else  in  the  town  white  and  blue,  they 
seemed  tickled  about  something  by  the  way  they 
were  slapping  the  paint  all  over  the  street,  and  I 
guess  paint  is  cheap  in  Ohio,  so  I  asked  a  man  what 
they  we  painting  up  for,  and  he  said  they're  getting 
ready  to  celebrate  McKinley's  nomination. 

"  So  I  know  everybody  in  Canton  liked  the  big 
Republican,  and  I  hurried  on.  His  house  is  a 
pretty  one,  made  of  wood  and  painted  white,  on  a  fine 
broad  street,  and  there  wasn't  any  basements  or  steps, 
like  we  see  in  New  York  Houses. 

"  It's  a  fine  place  to  live  in,  and  I'd  like  to  liv« 
there  myself. 

"I  knew  right  away  that  it  was  where  Mr.  McKinley 
and  his  wife  Mrs.  McKinley  lived,  for  Mr.  Boyle  had 
told  me  what  it  looked  like,  he  said  there  were  two 
big  earns  painted  white  standing  in  the  big  lawn  in 


244  McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS 

front  of  the  house.  They  weren't  anything  but  two 
big  flower-pots,  as  big  as  I  am. 

"  I  went  up  to  the  door  and  pressed  the  button,  and 
inquired  as  to  see  Mr.  McKinley,  its  an  electric  bell, 
and  I  suppose  it  will  be  worn  out  soon,  if  there's  as 
many  callers  come  every  day  as  come  and  wanted  to 
see  him  as  while  I  was  there. 

"A  young  man  who  was  an  other  private  secretary 
came  to  the  door,  Major  McKinley  has  two  private 
secretaries. 

" '  Come  right  in/  says  he  and  he  took  my  card, 
and  went  into  a  room  right  by  the  door.  I  asked 
for  Mr.  Boyle,  but  the  young  man  took  my  card  to 
a  large  man,  in  the  front  room,  and  when  he  came 
out  and  said,  *  step  right  in  here  and  sit  down/  I 
walked  in,  and  there  was  a  big  man  sitting  in  the 
corner.  I  knew  him  right  'off  as  soon  as  I  seen  him, 
and  I  sat  there  in  a  rocking  chair,  sizing  him  up 
and  the  room  I  was  in. 

"  It  was  Major  McKinley. 

"I  seen  he  had  a  round  head  with  not  much  hair 
on  the  top,  and  I  knew  it  was  him,  because  he 
looked  like  the  pictures  of  Napoleon  at  the  elevated 
stations,  which  the  newspaper  artists  make  him  look 
like. 

"  He  wore  eye-glasses  and  a  black  coat,  and  had 
awful  big  eye-brows,  and  he  didn't  look  like  as  if  he 
was  in  a  great  hurry,  and  I  hoped  he'd  talk  to  me  a 
good  d@al. 

*'  He  was  at  a  little  desk  looking  over  some  letters. 


McKIKLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS  245 

"  I  liked  him  right  off,  and  then  I  looked  at  the 
room.  It  was  his  library  and  he  uses  it  as  his  office, 
it  is  very  large  with  plenty  of  book  shelves,  which 
are  full  of  his  favorite  authors,  Grant,  Lincoln  and 
himself. 

"  Pictures  were  hanging  on  the  walls  of  Grant, 
Lincoln,  and  a  lot  of  otheir  great  men  and  also  a 
large  beautiful  picture  of  his  wife  Mrs.  McKinley 
and  himself. 

"Then  I  looked  at  Mr.  McKinley  again,  and  I 
seemed  to  be  getting  almost  afraid  to  talk  to  him  for 
I  thought  he  was  such  a  big  man,  wise  and  great,  but 
I  thought  to  myself  that  there  wasn't  any  use  for  me 
to  come  all  the  way  from  New  York  and  not  talk  to 
him. 

"  So  I  got  my  senses  together  and  just  then  Mr. 
Boyle  came  down  stairs  and  stepped  over  to  the 
Major,  and  said  right  off  that  there  was  a  boy  there 
to  see  him.  Mr.  McKinley  got  right  up  from  his 
chair  and  stared  at  me  with  a  very  pleasant  smile  on 
his  face. 

" '  this  is  Harry  Wilson/  said  Mr.  Boyle,  *  who  has 
come  from  New  York  to  see  you.' 

" '  I'm  pleased  to  see  you/  said  Mr.  McKinley,  and 
he  gave  me  his  hand  for  to  shake,  and  I  liked  him 
more  than  ever,  because  he  acted  as  if  he  was  real 
pleased  to  see  me. 

"  '  Sit  down/  said  he,  and  he  pointed  to  my  rocking 
chair,  and  then  he  sat  down  in  front  of  me  in  one  of 
them  chairs  that  whirl  around  like  the  Editor's  chair. 


246  McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS 

"  And  I  said  to  him,  *  Mr.  McKinley  I  am  more 
than  pleased  to  meet  you,  as  I  think  that  not  more 
than  one  of  a  thousand  boys  could  see  you  and  talk 
with  you,  and  I'm  proud.' 

"  Then  I  told  him  at  once  what  I  had  come  for,  be- 
cause I  didn't  want  to  keep  him  from  his  work, 
writing  letters  and  suchithings. 

"  '  Mr.  McKinley,'  I  said,  *  I  come  to  ask  you  if 
you  would  give  me  some  advice  as  to  how  a  young 
boy  can  start  in  life  and  become  a  great  man  ;  I 
thought  you  could  tell  me/ 

"  I  wondered  what  he  was  going  to  say,  as  I've 
asked  a  lot  of  big  men  like  Chauncey  Depew  and 
Alderman  Muh  the  same  thing.  He  sat  still  for  a 
moment  holding  his  eye-glasses  with  his  right  hand, 
and  pushing  the  black  bead  on  the  cord  with  his 
other  hand.  I  saw  he  wears  a  gold  ring  on  the  left 
hand  and  a  pair  of  great  big  cuff  buttons,  not  link 
buttons,  like  the  swells  wear ;  I  guess  his  wife  must 
have  given  them  to  him. 

"  He  thought  a  long  time,  and  then  talked  very 
slowly,  and  his  voice  was  deep. 

"  'Well,'  he  said,  'first  a  boy  must  be  a  good  boy, 
honest,  always  do  what  is  right,  pay  attention  to  what 
he  is  doing,  and  be  a  student ;  he  must  go  to  school 
all  he  can,  learn  all  his  lessons,  and  he  mustn't  be 
afraid  to  study.' 

"  Then  I  thought  to  myself  what  Mr.  McKinley 
had  said  was  perfectly  right ;  then  I  paused  for  a 
moment,  thinking  what  I  should  ask  him  next.  I 


McKIXLEY'S  ADVICE  T(5  BOYS  247 

had  never  been  far  outside  of  New  York  before,  and 
Canton  looked  like  a  very  small  town  to  me,  and  I 
wondered  if  it  was  a  good  place  to  make  smart  men  in. 

"  '  Mr.  McKinley,'  I  said,  *  will  you  please  tell  me 
do  you  think  a  boy  has  as  much  chance  to  study  and 
make  a  great  man  out  of  himself  in  a  small  place 
like  this  as  the  boys  in  great  cities  like  New  York 
have  ?' 

"  That  made  him  smile,  but  he  said  right  off,  '  A 
boy  can  make  anything  out  of  himself  that  he  pleases, 
and  he  has  just  as  much  chance  to  do  it  in  the 
country  as  in  the  city ;  there  are  good  colleges  in 
small  places,  just  the  same  as  in  New  York,  and  a 
boy,  if  he  wants  to,  can  make  what  he  will  out  of 
himself/ 

"  He  was  beginning  to  get  warmed  up  and  was 
beginning  to  talk  fast.  He  went  on  : 

" '  It  don't  make  so  much  difference  where  it  is  or 
how  great  the  part  he  plays,  but  it's  the  way  he  plays 
it.  The  other  night  I  saw  a  play  at  the  theatre  called 
"  The  Rivals."  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  Mr.  Drew  and 
Mrs.  Drew,  and  Mrs.  Tabor,  and  Mr.  Crane  and 
Goodwin,  the  Holland  brothers,  and  Francis  Wilson, 
played  the  parts  ;  every  one  of  them  was  great,  and 
!  to  be  stars,  but  they  were  content  to  take  some 
parts  that  were  very  small  in  "  The  Rivals,"  but  they 
played  them  just  as  well  as  if  they  had  been  big. 

"  '  That  is  the  way  with  boys  and  men ;  it  isn't  so 
much  to  be  great  as  to  do  whatever  you  have  to  do 
well,  that  is  being  great/ 


248  McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS 

"  I  began  to  feel  as  if  I  was  hearing  a  sermon,  and 
the  Major  McKinley  looked  very  sober. 

"  Then  he  got  in  a  good  word  for  Canton.  '  If 
isn't  such  a  small  place,'  he  said,  '  and  it's  a  very 
nice  town  to  live  in.  Some  of  the  best  farms  are  out 
this  way.  Before  you  go  back  to  New  York  you 
had  better  take  a  good  look  around/ 

"  But  I  wasn't  through  with  him  yet.  I  said, '  Mr. 
McKinley,  would  you  please  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me 
when  a  boy  should  go  into  politics  ?' 

"  Then  he  laughed  again  and  looked  at  his  secre- 
tary, Mr.  Boyle,  who  looks  a  good  deal  like  Mr. 
McKinley.  Mr.  Boyle  was  going  to  say  something, 
when  Mr.  McKinley  suddenly  sprang  from  his  chair 
into  the  hall,  and  came  in  in  a  few  moments  with  a 
lady  leaning  on  his  arm. 

"  It  was  Mrs.  McKinley,  and  she  was  very  sweet- 
looking,  and  I  was  delighted  to  see  her,  and  I  think 
she  would  make  folks  comfortable  if  she  lived  in  the 
White  House  at  Washington. 

"  Mr.  McKinley  is  very  fond  of  her,  I  am  sure,  and 
he  escorted  her  to  the  carriage,  and  she  was  going 
out  for  a  morning  ride. 

"  Then  he  came  back  and  sat  down  with  a  smile  on 
his  face.  When  he  was  about  to  begin  to  talk  to  me 
he  was  called  away  again,  and  stayed  away  a  few 
moments  and  then  came  in  again  and  sat  down  and 
then  laughed,  and  began  to  ask  me  questions  before 
I  could  ask  him  some  more. 

" '  How  old  are  you ;  how  long  have  you  been  work- 


McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS  249 

ing  ?'  I  then  told  him  and  he  wanted  to  know  how 
long  I  had  been  reporting.  I  said '  eight  months.' 

"  He  then  said  to  me, '  Harry,  I  believe  you  must 
have  a  great  deal  of  good  advice  by  this  time,'  and 
the  Major  laughed.  So  did  all  the  rest  in  the  room. 

"  I  said  « If  I  could  follow  all  I've  been  told  I'd  be 
a  great  man  pretty  quick.' 

"  Mr.  McKinley  is  very  fond  of  his  mother,  who  is 
eighty-seven  years  old,  and  lives  near  him,  so  I  said, 
*  Can  a  boy  neglect  his  mother  and  get  along  and  be 
great,  Mr.  McKinley  ?' 

"  He  looked  very  grave  and  sad,  and  then  said  : 

" '  Harry,  a  boy  should  always  be  good  to  his 
mother  and  do  everything  in  the  world  he  can  and 
love  her.  He  must  comfort  her,  be  kind  and  gentle 
to  her,  and  not  only  do  all  he  can  to  make  her 
happy,  but  he  should  make  opportunities  to  try  and 
do  everything  he  can  do.' 

"That's  just  the  Major  McKinley's  words,  because 
I  wrote  them  down  when  I  came  out  of  the  home. 

"  '  A  boy  cannot  expect  to  succeed  if  he  isn't  good 
to  his  mother/  the  Major  says.  '  A  boy  should  do 
all  the  work  for  her  because  when  the  time  comes 
that  she  has  got  to  leave  for  a  greater  world  than  this 
:t ml  if  he  has  done  what  is  right  towards  her,  all  the 
time,  then  when  the  time  comes  for  her  to  go  he  will 
never  regret  the  good  he  has  done  towards  her.' 

"  Then  I  said  *  I  have  done  everything  in  the  world 
I  can  do  for  my  mother,'  and  then  lie  said, 

*  '  That's  right,  Harry,  do  all  you  can  at  all  times.' 


250  McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS 

"  Then  I  stoped  for  a  moment  and  says  '  If  every 
boy  would  follow  the  advice  which  you  have  given 
me,  he  never  will  feel  sorry  for  the  good  work  he  has 
done  for  her  when  the  end  comes.' 

"  Then  I  stoped  a  moment  and  thought  that  Mr. 
McKinley  hadn't  told  me  when  a  boy  should  go  into 
politics,  and  I  said, 

" '  Mr.  McKinley,  will  you  tell  me  when  a  boy 
ought  to  study  politics.' 

"  He  then  stoped  a  moment,  and  then  said  to  me, 

" '  Harry,  first  a  boy  should  study  the  History  of 
his  country,  and  learn  all  the  political  history  of  the 
country.  He  should  learn  what  the  leaders  have 
done  for  their  country,  so  that  when  the  time  comes 
for  him  to  vote  he  will  be  able  to  do  so  intelligently.' 

"  Then  some  more  people  came  in  to  see  him,  and 
the  Major  McKinley  went  out  into  the  hall  again, 
and  I  knew  he  was  in  a  hurry,  so  I  said  that  I  wished 
to  ask  one  more  thing.  I  remembered  I  had  nearly 
forgotten  one  of  the  most  important  questions. 

"  I  then  said  after  he  had  returned  from  outside 
of  the  hall,  '  Mr.  McKinley  I  have  just  one  more 
question,  and  it  is  an  important  one.' 

"I  then  said  'would  you  tell  me  how  you  earned 
your  first  dollar  ?' 

"  He  sank  back  in  his  chair  and  looked  as  if  that 
wasn't  what  he  expected  me  to  ask  him,  then  he  put 
his  hand  up  to  the  side  of  his  head,  as  if  to  recall 
the  years  which  had  passed  by,  and  then  with  a  smile 
said: 


McKINLEY'S   ADVICE  TO  BOYS  251 

" '  Really  I  can't  recall  the  first  dollar  that  I 
earned/  he  keeped  on  thinking,  and  I  tried  to  make 
him  think  a  little  harder. 

"Then  I  said,  'did  you  have  to  saw  wood,  did  you 
have  to  drive  oxes  all  day  long,  or  did  you  have  to 
work  in  the  field  all  day,  can't  you  remember  what 
you  used  to  do  to  earn  money/ 

"He  then  said  to  me,  *  why  Harry  I  did  anything 
a  boy  would  do  around  the  house.  When  I  was  s. 
boy  money  was  very  scarce,  and  you  had  to  work 
hard  for  what  little  money  you  got.  But  I  can't 
remember  the  first  dollar.  You  have  to  ask  me 
something  easy/ 

"  What  kind  of  books  should  a  boy  who  wants  to 
be  great  read  ?" 

"  *  Ah !  now  I  have  to  refer  you  to  my  private  sec- 
retary, he  has  a  lecture  which  he  speaks  on  the 
stage  that  tells  all  that  and  much  more/ 

"  So  then  I  knew  my  talk  was  over  with  him.  I 
felt  very  sorry  to  say  good-bye,  but  I  said : 

"  '  Mr.  McKinley,  I  want  to  thank  you,  for  it  was 
very  good  in  you  to  stop  to  talk  to  a  boy,  and  I  am 
very  grateful/ 

" '  And  I  am  very  glad  that  you  came  to  see  me/ 
says  he.  '  I'm  always  glad  to  talk  with  boys.  I  like 
them  and  like  to  be  with  them.  What  is  there  in 
all  the  world  nicer  than  a  boy,  except  a  sweet  young 
girl  ?  Come  again,  Harry,  and  I  hope  you'll  have 
the  best  of  luck  and  do  some  good  in  the  world  with 
your  work.  Send  me  a  paper/ 


252  McKINLEY'S  ADVICE  TO  BOYS 

"  Then  we  shook  hands  again,  and  Mr.  Boyle  went 
out  on  the  porch  with  me,  and  there  was  a  lot  of  big 
men — polictitians,  I  guess — and  I  think  Mr.  McKin- 
ley was  very  nice  to  talk  to  me  and  keep  them  wait- 
ing so  long. 

"  I  guess  all  the  boys  who  know  Mr.  McKinley 
like  Mr.  McKinley  as  well  as  he  likes  them,  because 
the  boys  of  Canton,  O.,  have  already  formed  a  drum 
core.  Its  the  first  campaign  club  in  the  country, 
and  the  boys  are  very  proud  of  it.  I'd  join  if  I 
lived  in  Canton.  The  boys  all  wear  white  suits  and 
drill,  and  are  going  to  march  for  McKinley. 

"HARRY  WILSON." 

Harry  Wilson  has  beaten  all  the  accomplished 
reporters,  and  his  photograph  of  McKinley  at  home 
is  perfect.  It  is  valuable,  for  it  is  true  all  through, 
and  the  wholesome,  serious,  earnest,  kindly,  loving, 
genuine  man,  McKinley,  stands  revealed — symmetri- 
cal, strong,  and  genial. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS. 

Between  Republican  protection  and  prosperity  and  Democratic 
meddling,  disorganizing  industry  and  forcing  hard  times, 
displayed  in  speeches  by  McKinley  in  1892  and  in  1895— A 
plea  in  Boston  for  protection  and  prosperity. 

GOVERNOR  McKINLEY,  on  October  4th, 
1892,  in  American  Hall,  Boston,  addressed 
the  people,  beginning  then,  as  he  might 
now,  saying : 

"This  year  we  have  two  great  questions.  The 
contention  of  the  Republican  party  is  for  the  indus- 
tries and  the  labor  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
country.  The  second  contention  of  the  Republican 
party  is  for  an  honest  currency  with  which  to  meas- 
ure the  exchanges  of  the  people." 

He  proceeded  to  make  a  speech  most  pertinent  to 
these  times,  and  put  to  the  front  the  leading  ques- 
tions. His  remarkably  forcible  speech  is  now  just 
as  it  was  reported  for  the  press.  We  quote : 

"  The  Democratic  contention,  no  matter  what  Mr. 
Hill  may  have  said  in  his  Brooklyn  speech,  no  mat- 
ter what  Mr.  Cleveland  may  have  said  in  his  recent 


254  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

letter  of  acceptance — the  contention  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  is  for  free  trade  and  for  a  debased, 
worthless  currency.  If  this  is  disputed,  the  history 
of  the  most  unfortunate  Cleveland  adminstration 
proves  it.  [Applause.]  The  leaders  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  have  been  financially  unsound  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  [Applause.]  This  unsounduess 
has  not  always  taken  on  the  same  form,  but  its  effect 
has  always  been  the  same — to  corrupt  the  currency 
of  the  country.  You  will  remember  its  opposition 
to  the  greenback  currency,  its  opposition  to  the 
national  bank  currency,  its  opposition  to  the  resump- 
tion of  specie  payments,  its  declaration  in  favor  of 
the  inflation  of  the  currency  without  limit  in  value 
and  irredeemable.  You  will  remember  its  declara- 
tion for  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 
These  have  been  the  positions  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  every  national  contest  for  the  past  thirty 
years,  one  or  the  other,  and  driven  from  the  one  they 
have  taken  up  the  other.  Their  last  was  the  free 
and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver.  Driven  by  the 
party  exigency,  by  the  near  approach  of  a  Presiden- 
tial campaign,  they  abandoned  the  free  and  unlim- 
ited coinage  of  silver,  put  in  nomination  a  candidate 
in  opposition  to  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver,  and  when  they  did  that  they  had  to  break 
out  in  some  other  place.  [Applause.]  And  so  they 
declared  in  their  platform  of  1892  for  the  abolition 
of  the  ten  per  cent,  tax  on  State  bank  circulation, 
the  only  object  of  such  a  declaration  being  to  restore 


HON.  BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


HON.   R.  PROCTOR. 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  257 

such  State  bank  circulation,  and  the  only  effect  of 
such  restoration  would  be  the  retirement  of  the 
national  money  of  the  country. 

"  This  is  the  worst  form  of  financial  unsoundness 
that  has  ever  emanated  from  the  Democratic  leaders, 
and  I  purpose  for  a  few  minutes,  and  only  a  few 
minutes,  to  call  the  attention  of  this  audience  to  what 
the  return  to  State  bank  circulation  means — means 
to  every  business  in  the  country,  means  to  every 
interest  of  the  country,  means  to  every  wage-earner 
of  the  country,  means  to  every  dollar  of  invested 
capital  in  the  country — a  proposition  to  go  away 
from  the  national  bank  and  the  greenback  and  the 
treasury  note  currency  to  the  wildcat  currency  of 
thirty  years  ago.  [Applause.] 

"  You  will  remember  that  in  1866  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  imposed  a  tax  on  State  banks. 
The  purpose  of  that  tax  was  to  retire  State  bank 
circulation,  and  to  substitute  in  its  place  national 
money,  and  it  had  the  desired  effect.  State  bank 
money  went  out  and  national  currency  came  in. 
And  we  had  to  do  it.  We  had  a  nation  to  save  and 
we  had  to  have  national  agencies  to  save  it.  State 
agencies  would  not  do. 

"  Now,  it  isproposed  to  go  back  to  that,  when  we  have 
got  the  best  currency  in  the  world.  And  I  want  to  read 
you  the  condition  of  the  banks  of  this  country  prior  to 
ISIJO.  I  have  lying  on  this  table  the  old  Bank  Note 
Detector,  which  every  business  man  had  to  have  to 
know  whether  the  money  he  was  receiving  was 


258  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

genuine  or  whether  it  was  counterfeit.  Here  ie  the 
old  document,  dated  the  first  day  of  December,  1859. 
Now,  what  does  it  show  ?  It  shows  that  this  country 
at  that  time  had  1,590  State  banks  of  issue,  exclusive 
of  what  were  called  *  State  banks  and  their  branches ' 
— 1,590  of  them,  and  the  notes  of  but  fifty  of  those 
banks  were  at  par.  The  notes  of  the  1,540  other 
banks  were  at  a  discount.  There  was  not  a  bank  in 
the  State  of  Massachusetts  that  was  quoted  at  par  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  There  was  not  a  note  issued 
by  any  State  bank  in  Ohio,  or  in  any  State  bank  in 
Pennsylvania,  or  any  State  bank  in  Illinois  that  was 
current  at  par  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  and  limits 
of  the  State.  The  money  was  fairly  good  within  the 
State,  but  when  you  stepped  across  the  State  lines 
then  the  holder  of  that  currency  had  to  look  out  for 
the  speculator  and  the  shaver  and  stand  a  discount. 
And  that  was  the  kind  of  money  with  which  we  did 
the  business  of  this  country.  And  no  man  when  he 
got  some  of  that  paper  was  certain  that  before  morn- 
ing came  the  bank  would  not  fail.  [Laughter.]  And 
then  there  were  890  broken,  failed,  and  worthless 
banks,  in  addition  to  the  1,590,  scattered  throughout 
every  State  of  the  Union,  whose  notes  had  been  put 
in  circulation,  had  been  taken  by  the  people  of  this 
country,  value  given  for  such  paper  money,  which 
proved  to  be  worthless  in  the  hands  of  the  people, 
and  of  no  more  account  than  the  paper  upon  which  it 
was  printed.  The  Republican  party  is  against  the  re- 
turn to  the  State  bank  circulation.  [Great  applause.] 


259 

"Daniel  Webster,  away  back  in  1832,  said  in  this 
city,  and  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  his  words, 
upon  this  very  subject  of  State  banks : 

"  *  These  State  banks,  lying  under  no  restraint  from 
the  General  Government  or  any  of  its  institutions, 
issued  paper  money  corresponding  to  their  own  sense 
of  their  immediate  interests  and  hopes  of  gain.  .  .  . 
I  believe,  gentlemen,  "  the  experiment "  must  go 
through — the  experiment  of  State  bank  money.  I 
believe  that  every  part  and  every  portion  of  our 
country  will  have  a  satisfactory  test  of  what  they  call 
the  "  better  currency."  I  believe  we  shall  be  blessed 
again  with  the  currency  of  1812,  when  money  was 
the  only  uncurrent  species  of  property.  We  have 
amidst  all  the  distress  that  surrounds  us  men  of 
power  who  condemn  the  national  bank  in  every 
form,  maintain  the  efficacy  and  efficiency  of  State 
banks  for  domestic  exchange,  and,  amidst  all  the 
sufferings  and  terrors  of  "  the  experiment,"  cry  out 
that  they  are  establishing  "  a  better  currency."  '  The 
experiment,'  says  Mr.  Webster — '  the  experiment 
upon  what?  The  experiment  of  one  man  upon  the 
happiness,  the  well-being,  and,  I  may  also  say,  upon 
the  lives  of  12,000,000  human  beings  '—63,000,000 
to-day  is  what  the  experiment  would  mean ;  it  was 
17,000,000  then — '  the  experiment  that  found  us  in 
health,  the  experiment  that  found  us  with  the  best 
currency  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  same  from  the 
North  to  the  South,  from  Boston  to  St.  Louis,  and 
possessing  the  unlimited  confidence  of  foreign  coun- 


260  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

tries,  and  which  leaves  us  crushed,  ruined,  without 
gain  at  home  and  without  credit  abroad.  The  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  stands  chargeable,  in  my 
opinion,  with  a  gross  dereliction  from  duty  in  leav- 
ing the  currency  of  the  country  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  others  without  seeking  to  exercise  over  it  any  con- 
trol whatever.  The  means  of  exercising  this  con- 
trol rests  in  the  wisdom  of  Congress.  ...  It  is  a 
power  that  cannot  be  yielded  to  others  with  safety  to 
the  country  and  with  credit  to  them.  The  Govern- 
ment may  as  well  give  up  to  the  States  the  power  of 
making  peace  or  war,  leave  the  twenty-six  inde- 
pendent States  to  select  their  own  foes,  raise  their 
own  troops,  and  conclude  their  own  terms  of  peace. 
It  might  as  well  leave  the  States  to  impose  their 
own  duties  and  regulate  their  own  terms  of  trade  and 
commerce  as  to  give  up  control  over  the  currency  in 
which  the  whole  nation  is  interested.'  [Applause.] 

"  That  was  the  language  of  Daniel  Webster  in  1832, 
and  every  word  of  it  applies  to  the  situation  to-day. 
It  is  proposed  by  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party 
to  give  up  the  national  currency,  which  is  the  best 
in  the  world,  and  go  back  to  this  unstable  and  unsat- 
isfactory and  worthless  currency  which  Mr.  Webster 
characterized  as  unfit  to  do  the  business  of  this  great 
country.  We  have  to-day  gold  and  silver  and  paper 
money,  each  the  equal  of  the  other — equal  in  debt- 
paying  and  in  legal-tender  power  ;  good  not  only  at 
home,  but  good  in  every  business  corner  of  the 
world ;  worth  100  cents  on  the  dollar  every  week  of 


CONTRASTED    CONDITIONS  261 

every  month  of  every  year.  [Applause.]  There  is 
not  a  man  in  this  great  audience  who  has  a  national 
bank  note  in  his  purse  to-night  who  knows  where 
that  note  was  issued.  He  does  not  know  the  city  or 
the  town  or  the  county  or  the  State  from  whence  it 
came.  He  does  not  know  whether  it  was  issued  in 
Maine  or  whether  it  was  issued  in  California,  and  he 
does  not  care  [great  applause],  because  it  is  good 
wherever  it  was  issued ;  because  the  government  of 
the  United  States  stands  behind  it  [applause],  and 
that  government  has  for  its  security  the  bonds  of  the 
United  States,  which  sell  at  a  premium  in  every 
money  centre  of  the  world.  [Renewed  applause.] 
Every  dollar  we  have  got,  because  the  government 
stands  behind  it,  is  as  good  as  every  other  dollar. 
There  is  one  thing  the  people  of  this  country  have 
no  business  to  trifle  with,  and  that  is  the  money  of 
the  country,  which  measures  the  products  of  your 
land  and  your  labor,  the  products  of  your  energy 
and  your  skill.  [Applause.]  That  should  be  fixed 
and  unalterable  and  unchangeable,  and  that  is  its 
situation  to-day.  The  currency  of  this  country 
should  be  as  national  as  its  flag.  [Applause.]  It 
should  be  as  unsullied  as  the  national  conscience 
and  as  sound  as  the  government  itself.  [Applause.] 
And  there  is  not  a  business  man  or  workingman,  no 
matter  to  what  political  party  he  belongs,  if  he  will 
honestly  vote  his  convictions,  who  will  not  vote 
against  the  party  that  proposes  to  re-establish  a  sys- 
tem under  which  this  country  lost  millions  upon 


262  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

millions  of  dollars.  [Applause.]  We  have  had  all 
of  the  Confederate  currency  we  want.  [Loud  cheers.] 
We  are  for  United  States  currency  in  some  form  for 
all  time  in  the  future.  [Applause.]  And  we  are  not 
only  opposed  to  Confederate  currency,  but  we  are 
opposed  to  British  political  economy.  We  not  only 
fight  for  our  industries  and  our  labor,  that  they  may 
be  prosperous  and  well  paid,  but  we  insist  that  when 
they  have  earned  their  money  they  shall  be  paid  in 
a  dollar  worth  one  hundred  cents.  [Great  cheer- 
ing.] When  a  workingman  gives  ten  hours  a  day 
to  his  employer — ten  full  hours — he  is  entitled  to 
be  paid  in  a  dollar  worth  full  one  hundred  cents. 
[Applause.]  Free  trade  shaves  down  his  labor  first, 
and  then  scales  down  his  pay  by  rewarding  him  in 
a  worthless  and  a  depreciated  State  currency.  [Ap- 
plause.] The  one  reduces  his  wages,  and  the  other 
cheats  him  in  the  pay.  [Applause.]  And  that  is 
the  Democratic  platform  of  1892.  [Applause.]  No 
man  can  escape  it.  Mr.  Hill  undertook  to  do  it  in 
his  Brooklyn  speech,  but  Mr.  Hill  undertook  to  do 
in  that  speech  what  the  National  Democratic  Con- 
vention had  declared  by  solemn  vote  it  would  not 
do.  [Applause.]  And  then,  besides,  if  I  may  be 
permitted  to  speak  with  the  greatest  respect  of  Mr. 
Hill  and  in  perfectly  parliamentary  language,  Mr. 
Hill  is  hardly  in  a  position  to  make  a  platform  for 
the  Democratic  party  which  the  Democratic  con- 
vention rejected  when  he  himself  was  rejected  by 
the  same  party.  [Prolonged  cheers.]  He  says  it  ia 


COXTRASTED   COXDITIOXS  263 

true  that  protection  is  unconstitutional,  but  he  is 
willing  for  the  good  of  the  country  to  take  it  in 
small  quantities  [great  laughter],  even  of  the  un- 
constitutional article.  He  says  protection  is  a  fraud, 
but  he  is  in  favor  of  incidental  protection — that  is, 
he  is  in  favor  of  an  incidental  fraud.  A  fraud  by 
accident  he  does  not  object  to.  A  fraud  by  a 
casualty  he  sees  no  objection  to,  or  a  fraud  by  inci- 
dent ;  but  protection  plain  and  simple,  says  Mr. 
Hill,  although  he  tries  to  fix  up  a  new  platform,  is 
a  fraud  upon  the  American  people.  And  he  says  it 
is  unconstitutional.  'Protection  unconstitutional? 
I  know  of  but  one  constitution  which  it  violates  and 
that  is  the  constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 
[Long  applause  and  cheers.]  It  is  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  that  instrument.  But  we  are  not  operating 
under  it.  [Laughter.]  That  instrument  went  down 
before  the  resistless  armies  of  Grant  and  Sherman 
and  Sheridan  [cheers],  and  the  Constitution  of 
Washington  and  Lincoln  was  sustained.  [Applause.] 
And  that  is  the  Constitution  under  which  we  are 
operating  to-day — the  Constitution  of  Washington 
and  of  Lincoln  and  of  Grant.  [Cheers.] 

"  Unconstitutional  ?  That  is  the  last  objection  of 
the  Democratic  leaders.  [Laughter.]  It  usually 
precedes  immediate  acquiescence  and  surrender. 
[Laughter.]  It  comes  after  they  have  tried  every 
other  objection.  They  do  not  seem  to  know  that  the 
mnn  who  made  the  first  Protective  Tariff  law  we  ever 
had,  in  1789 — the  men  who  made  the  first  Protective 


264  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

Tariff  law— made  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  [Loud  cheers.]  James  Madison,  a  member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and  who  afterward 
became  President  of  the  United  States,  reported  that 
bill  to  Congress.  It  passed  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, composed  as  that  body  was  largely  of  members 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention ;  it  passed  that  body 
unanimously,  and  passed  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  by  a  vote  of  five  to  one,  and  in  that  body  were 
a  large  number  of  men  who  made  the  Constitution 
itself.  And  that  Protective  Tariff  law  was  finally 
signed  by  George  Washington,  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  [Applause.] 

"  That  is  not  all.  I  have  always  liked  the  fathers, 
for  they  had  a  blunt,  plain  way  of  saying  what  they 
meant.  They  put  into  that  first  protective  law  what 
has  never  appeared  in  a  Protective  Tariff  law  since. 
They  put  into  the  preamble  of  that  law  exactly  what 
they  meant.  What  did  they  say  ?  They  said,  *  We 
levy  these  duties  to  raise  money  to  pay  the  debts  of 
the  government;  to  provide  money  for  the  expenses 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  encourage  and  protect 
manufactures  in  the  United  States.'  [Enthusiastic 
cheering.]  There  is  not  a  historic  Democrat,  from 
Jefferson  down  to  Cleveland — excluding  Mr.  Cleve- 
land— who  has  not  always  sustained  the  constitution- 
ality of  a  Protective  Tariff.  Jefferson  sustained  it,  as 
did  Jackson  and  Madison  and  Wright  and  Ben  ton 
and  Buchanan,  and  dozens  and  dozens  more  of  names 
well  known  in  the  political  history  of  our  country,- 


CONTKASTED   CONDITIONS  265 

Is  Grover  Cleveland  a  better  constitutional  lawyer 
than  Thomas  Jefferson  ?  [Shouts  of  '  No.']  Is 
Adlai  Stevenson  a  better  constitutional  lawyer  than 
James  Madison  ?  [Laughter.]  Is  Governor  Rus- 
sell a  safer  expounder  of  the  Constitution  than  Daniel 
Webster  ?  [Applause  and  cries  of '  No.']  Is  Henry 
Watterson  safer  than  Henry  Clay?  [Shouts  of 
'  No.']  Are  all  of  them  combined  as  safe  to  be  relied 
upon  as  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
which,  over  and  over  again,  has  sustained  the  consti- 
tutionality of  a  Protective  Tariff?  [Applause  and 
cries  of  '  No.']  Have  Mr.  Cleveland  and  the  other 
Democratic  leaders  forgotten  that  within  twelve 
months  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has 
put  its  judicial  sanction  upon  the  tariff  law  of  1890  ? 
[Applause.]  And  if  that  is  not  a  Protective  Tariff 
law  [great  laughter]  it  is  the  result  of  accident  and 
not  design.  [Long  applause  and  cheers.] 

Protective  tariffs  are  not  only  constitutional,  but 
in  our  own  experience  they  have  proved  wholesome  to 
the  great  body  of  the  American  people.  [Applause.] 
No  nation  in  the  world  has  done  so  well  as  ours ; 
not  one.  Match  it  if  you  can  under  any  circum- 
stances the  world  over.  [Applause.]  We  are  the 
youngest  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  yet  we 
have  reached  the  first  rank  in  mining,  in  manu- 
facture, and  in  agriculture  of  all  the  nations  the 
wide  world  over.  [Applause.]  But  they  said  your 
protective  tariffs,  and  especially  the  law  of  1890, 
would  build  a  Chinese  wall  around  this  country,  and 


266  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

that  you  could  neither  get  out  or  come  in.  [Laugh-* 
ter.]  That  is  what  they  said  in  1890.  That  is  what 
they  said  in  1891.  And  if  results  did  not  overtake 
predictions,  the  Democratic  party  would  be  the  great- 
est party  of  the  world.  [Laughter.]  If  that  party 
could  be  only  unembarrassed  by  facts !  [Great  ap- 
plause.] 

Keep  us  out  of  the  home  market  ?  I  said  in  Tre- 
mont  Temple  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago  that 
this  Protective  Tariff  law  would  vindicate  itself. 
You  believed  it  then — you  know  it  now.  [Loud 
applause  and  cheers.]  Shut  us  out  from  our  for- 
eign trade?  Why,  the  last  twelve  months,  under 
the  operation  of  the  new  law,  we  have  had  more 
foreign  trade  than  we  ever  had  in  any  twelve  months 
of  our  national  history.  [Applause.]  Our  foreign 
trade  amounted  last  year  to  $1,890,000,000,  a  point 
never  reached  before  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States.  [Great  applause.]  They  called  the  Fifty- 
first  Congress,  which  was  Republican — the  Congress 
over  which  the  Czar  presided  [tremendous  cheer- 
ing]— they  called  it  a  billion-dollar  Congress. 
More  than  that — it  was  a  billion-and-eight- 
hundred-and-ninety-million-dollar  Congress.  We 
sent  more  American  products  to  Europe  in  the 
last  twelve  months  in  volume  and  in  value  than 
we  ever  sent  in  any  twelve  months  since  the  govern- 
ment began.  One  billion  and  thirty  million  dollars 
of  American  products  went  to  Europe,  $849,000,000 
of  European  products  came  to  the  United  States,  and 


COXTKASTED    CONDITIONS  267 

Europe  paid  us  $240,000,000  in  gold  to  settle  the 
balance  of  trade  in  favor  of  the  American  producer. 
[Applause.]  We  never  had  so  good  a  business  at 
home  as  we  have  got  now,  and  we  never  had  so  large 
a  business  abroad  as  we  have  got  now.  And  I 
noticed  in  the  Evening  Post,  or  the  Morning  Post,  of 
the  city  of  Boston,  a  leading,  double-leaded  editorial, 
telling  how  prosperous  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  city  of  Boston  are  to-day.  I  don't 
know  what  the  politics  of  that  paper  are  [great 
laughter],  and  I  don't  care,  because  there  are  no 
politics  in  facts.  [Cheers.]  Ah  !  but  they  say,  if 
you  had  not  the  Protective  Tariff  things  would  be  a 
little  cheaper.  Well,  whether  a  thing  is  cheap  or 
whether  it  is  dear  depends  upon  what  we  can  earn 
by  our  daily  labor.  Free  trade  cheapens  the  product 
by  cheapening  the  producer.  Protection  cheapens 
the  product  by  elevating  the  producer.  [Applause.] 
Under  free  trade  the  trader  is  the  master  and  the 
producer  the  slave.  Protection  is  but  the  law  of 
nature,  the  law  of  self-preservation,  of  self-develop- 
ment, of  securing  the  highest  and  best  destiny  of  the 
race  of  man.  [Cheers.] 

"  Grover  Cleveland  says,  strangely,  in  his  letter : 
'We  must  consult  morals  as  well  as  maxims.' 
[Laughter.]  I  suppose  he  means  by  that  that  pro- 
tection is  immoral.  Immoral !  Why,  if  protection 
builds  up  and  elevates  63,000,000  of  people,  the 
influence  of  those  63,000,000  of  people  elevates  the 
rest  of  the  world.  [Great  applause.]  We  cannot 


268  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

take  a  step  in  the  pathway  of  progress  without  bene- 
iiting  mankind  everywhere.  Weil,  they  say,  '  Buy 
where  you  can  buy  the  cheapest.'  That  is  one  of 
their  maxims.  "Buy  where  you  can  buy  the  cheap- 
est. Of  course,  that  applies  to  labor  as  to  everything 
else.  Let  me  give  you  a  maxim  that  is  a  thousand 
times  better  than  that,  and  it  is  a  protection  maxim  : 
'  Buy  where  you  can  pay  the  easiest/  [Great  ap- 
plause.] And  that  spot  of  earth  is  where  labor 
wins  its  highest  rewards.  What  has  this  Protective 
Tariff  law  of  1890  done  ?  Why,  it  has  increased 
factories  all  over  the  United  States.  It  has  built 
new  ones,  it  has  enlarged  old  ones.  It  has  started 
the  pearl  button  business  in  this  country.  [Laugh- 
ter.] We  used  to  buy  our  buttons  made  in  Austria 
by  the  prison  labor  of  Austria.  We  are  buying  our 
buttons  to-day  made  by  the  free  labor  of  America. 
[Applause.]  We  had  11  button  factories  before 
1890;  we  have  85  now.  We  employed  500  men 
before  1890,  at  from  $12  to  $15  a  week  ;  we  employ 
8,000  men  now,  at  from  $18  to  $35  a  week. 
[Cheers.]  The  value  of  the  output  before  1890  was 
less  than  $500,000;  it  is  $3,500,000  to-day.  We 
are  making  some  of  the  finest  cotton  and  woolen 
goods  that  can  be  made  anywhere  in  the  world. 
You  are  making  them  in  Massachusetts.  They 
are  being  made  all  over  New  England.  Why, 
we  are  making  lace  in  Texas,  the  home  of 
Mills.  [Laughter.]  We  are"  making  velvets  and 
plushes  in  Philadelphia.  When  I  was  here,  a 


COXTRASTED   COXDITIOXS  269 

little  over  a  year  ago,  the  complaint  in  every 
Democratic  newspaper  was  that  the  tariff  law  of 
1890  had  put  the  tariff  up  on  plushes,  the  garment 
that  the  poor  girl  and  woman  wore.  Well,  it  is  true 
that  we  did  put  the  tariff  up  on  plushes,  but  the 
price  has  come  down.  [Applause.]  And  we  are 
making  them  in  this,  country,  giving  employment  to 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  workingmen.  And  we 
are  making  tin  plate  in  the  United  States.  [Loud 
cheers.]  We  have  made  in  the  last  fifteen  months 
13,000,000  pounds.  Ah !  but  they  say,  you  import  the 
black  sheets  from  abroad.  Well,  we  have,  some,  but 
we  have  made  5,000,000  of  tin  plates  from  black  sheets 
made  in  American  steel  mills  by  American  working- 
men.  [Applause.]  Supposing  we  did  import  some 
of  the  steel  sheets  and  do  the  tinning — that  gives  em- 
ployment to  labor.  But  what  they  said  was  that  we 
could  not  tin  the  sheet  steel.  That  was  the  objection 
originally  to  this  tin  plate  tariff.  Why,  I  saw  within 
the  last  three  weeks,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  in  the 
city  of  Ellwood,  one  of  the  most  magnificent  tin 
plate  mills  in  the  world,  manned  by  American  work- 
ingmen, and  I  saw  them  make  tin  plate  from  the 
rolled  steel  down  to  the  bright  and  shining  plate — 
plate  as  bright  and  shining  as  was  ever  made  in 
Swansea,  Wales.  [Applause.]  Cannot  make  tin 
plate?  Why,  we  can  make  anything  wo  want  to 
make.  [Great  cheering.]  We  could  not  make  it 
under  a  Democratic  revenue  tariff,  of  course.  [Ap- 
plause.^ 


270  CONTEASTED   CONDITIONS 

"Well,  but  they  said  this  tariff  law  of  1890  was 
going  to  increase  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
and  was  going  to  diminish  the  wages  of  labor.  It 
has  done  neither.  The  necessities  of  life  are  cheaper 
to-day  than  they  were  eighteen  months  ago.  The 
commodities  that  go  into  the  household  of  every  man 
and  woman  are  cheaper  to-day  than  they  were 
eighteen  months  ago,  and  the  price  of  labor  has  in- 
creased to  some  extent,  as  shown  by  the  report  of  the 
Senate  Committee,  consisting  of  three  Republicans 
and  two  Democrats,  as  shown  by  the  reports  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Labor  of  Indiana,  of  Massachusetts, 
of  Michigan,  and  of  the  State  of  New  York.  [Ap- 
plause.] These  reports  came  so  thick  and  fast  that 
they  confused  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  they  have  resorted  to  extraordinary  proceedings 
to  break  their  force.  They  have  gone  into  the  courts. 
They  are  persecuting  poor  Peck.  [Laughter.]  The 
whole  National  Committee  is  on  his  back. 

"  We  are  just  now  two  years,  day  after  to-morrow, 
from  the  passage  of  this  law  of  1890.  We  were  just 
two  years  in  the  national  campaign  of  1844  from  the 
passage  of  the  protective  law  of  1842.  Mr.  Polk 
got  in  under  false  pretenses  that  the  Democratic 
party  would  not  destroy  the  tariff.  When  he  got  in 
his  party  did  destroy  it.  Look  out  for  false  prophe- 
siers.  •  Men  must  stand  on  their  platforms  made  by 
their  national  parties.  [Applause.]  No  man  is 
higher  than  his  party.  Every  man  must  obey  the 
law  of  the  convention  that  nominates  him.  [Ap- 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  271 

plause.]  Aye,  did  you  remember  that  historical 
incident?  The  trial  of  this  year  is  between  the 
Republicans  and  the  Democrats  on  the  line  of  pro- 
tection and  free  trade.  They  can't  get  away  from  it 
if  they  would.  They  mean  free  trade  and  nothing 
else.  Ah  !  listen.  Let  me  just  read  one  more  word 
that  Mr.  Webster  says.  He  describes  how  the  mills 
of  Lowell  have  been  closed  up ;  in  your  own  State, 
way  back  in  1848,  how  800  men  were  thrown  out  of 
employment,  how  3,000  in  another  place  in  your 
own  State,  how  3,000,  4,000,  5,000  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  were  dismissed  from  employment 
under  the  tariff  of  1846,  and  then  he  characterizes 
this  free  trade.  He  says :  '  The  imports  of  iron  since 
the  new  tariff  are  enormous,  .  .  .  and  here  the  in- 
crease is  in  articles  of  the  highest  manufacture — that 
is,  articles  in  which  the  greatest  quantity  of  labor  is 
incorporated,  for  there  seems  to  be  in  this  policy ' — 
listen  to  his  words — '  there  seems  to  be  in  this  policy 
a  bloodhound  scent  to  follow  labor  and  to  run  it  down 
and  to  seize  it,  and  strangle  it  wherever  it  may  be 
found.' " 


272  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

about  $3,000,000.  In  1892  the  amount  of  green- 
backs presented  for  redemption  was  $5,352,243, 
and  during  the  same  year  $3,773,600  in  treasury 
notes  were  presented  for  redemption.  In  1893, 
after  the  change  in  administration,  there  were 
presented  for  redemption  $55,319,125  in  green- 
backs and  $46,781,220  in  treasury  notes,  or  a 
total  of  $102,100,345.  Thus  there  was  presented 
for  redemption  in  the  first  year  paper  money 
aggregating  nearly  three  times  the  volume  of  all 
that  had  been  presented  in  the  previous  fourteen 
years.  What  was  the  occasion  for  this  sudden  de- 
sire of  the  holders  of  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes 
to  have  them  redeemed  in  gold  ?  Was  it  not  a  lack 
of  confidence?  Was  it  not  from  the  known  fact 
that  the  proposed  legislation  of  the  Democratic  party 
would  tend  to  destroy  our  prosperity  at  home,  and 
probably  result  in  a  failure  to  collect  enough  money 
to  meet  the  current  expenses  and  obligations  of  the 
government  ? 

"  Was  it  not  from  the  fact  that  the  revenues  had 
fallen  short  in  meeting  the  expenditures  of  the  gov- 
ernment by  $117,000,000,  and  that  the  treasury  had 
been  compelled  to  borrow  that  vast  sum,  and  has 
since  been  compelled  to  borrow  $62,000,000  more  ? 
During  the  previous  years  the  people  had  been  so 
strong  in  their  faith  in  the  government  that  they 
were  satisfied  with  any  kind  of  money  issued  by  the 
government.  The  government  had  been  able  to  pro- 
duce such  a  financial  equilibrium  that  the  people 


OABBHT  A.  HOBAHT. 


SENATOR  WILLIAM   E.  MASON. 


COXTTIASTKD   CONDITIONS  275 

were  utterly  indifferent  whether  they  were  given 
gold,  silver,  or  paper.  Even  during  Mr.  Cleveland's 
first  administration,  confidence  was  unshaken  because 
there  was  no  Democratic  Congress  to  disturb  Repub- 
lican legislation  or  overthrow  or  disturb  the  sound 
financial  policy,  which  was  established  by  the  lie- 
publican  party.  There  had  been  no  change  in  the 
status  of  the  greenbacks  or  the  treasury  notes ;  there 
had  been  no  financial  legislation,  except  the  repeal 
of  the  purchase  clause  of  the  Sherman  Act  which 
simply  stopped  the  buying  of  silver. 

"  It  was  the  same  government.  There  had  been 
simply  a  change  of  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  government.  One  pledged  to  a  new  policy  had 
been  given  power  and  hence  came  the  universal  lack 
of  confidence ;  not  a  lack  of  confidence  in  the  people, 
or  in  our  institutions,  but  a  lack  of  confidence  in 
those  charged  with  the  administration  to  conduct 
the  government  with  safety  and  success.  From 
March  4th,  1881,  down  to  March  4th,  1893,  thanks 
to  the  Funding  Act  of  Hayes,  Sherman,  and  Win- 
dom,  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  been 
calling  in  its  bonds  and  paying  them  off  from  the 
surplus  revenue  in  the  treasury.  Instead  of  the 
people  demanding  gold  for  their  greenbacks  the 
government  was  engaged  in  paying  off  the  bonded 
indebtedness  of  the  government  in  gold.  The  same 
work  went  on  during  Mr.  Cleveland's  first  adminis- 
tration, but  not  without  opposition  from  him.  It 
will  be  -*»•  einbered  that  the  public  debt  which  his 


276  CONTRASTED    CONDITIONS 

administration  paid  off  was  paid  from  the  revenues 
of  the  government  collected  under  Republican  legis- 
lation. President  Harrison  paid  off  $296,000,000 
of  the  public  debt  and  turned  over  to  Mr.  Cleve- 
land's administration  $124,000,000  surplus.  There 
was  not  a  moment  from  the  inauguration  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison  to  the  second  inauguration  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  in  which  we  did  not  collect  for  every  day 
of  every  year  sufficient  revenues  to  pay  every  demand 
and  obligation  of  the  government. 

"  President  Harrison's  administration  was  a  bond- 
paying,  not  a  bond-issuing  administration.  The 
latest  bond  issue  of  President  Cleveland,  of  $63,- 
000,000,  was  made  in  secret  with  the  great  financiers 
of  Europe,  through  their  agents  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  made  out  of  the  sight  of  the  public ;  made 
upon  terms  which  were  harsh  and  humiliating  to  the 
great  government  of  the  United  States ;  made  at  a 
lower  price  than  the  existing  bonds  of  the  govern- 
ment were  being  sold  in  the  open  markets  of  this 
country  and  the  great  commercial  centres  of  the 
world,  and  made  at  a  higher  rate  of  interest  than  that 
paid  on  bonds  sold  six  months  before.  The  bonds 
under  contract  to-day  are  selling  in  advance  of  the 
price  received  by  the  government,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  England.  The  President  sold  the 
bonds  at  104J,  the  syndicate  sold  them  at  112i,  a 
gain  of  71,  and  the  subscribers  to  the  syndicate  are 
now  selling  their  bonds  at  from  116  to  120. 

"  It  was  a  hard  bargain  for  the  government,  but  it 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  277 

is  not  the  only  hard  bargain  we  have  had  to  bear. 
There  have  been  a  long  series  of  them.  The  hard- 
bargain  business  commenced  in  November,  1892,  and 
the  bargains  have  been  getting  harder  and  harder 
ever  since.  Out  of  it  all,  however,  we  get  some  faint 
ray  of  satisfaction.  It  must  be  gratifying  to  every 
American  citizen  to  observe  that  the  people  of  our 
own  country  and  of  England  both  place  a  higher 
estimate  upon  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  than  do 
those  who  are  temporarily  administering  its  govern- 
ment. We  ought  to  realize  by  this  time  that  we 
should  not  do  our  work  nor  make  our  loans  in 
Europe.  Let  us  place  what  options  we  have  with 
our  own  capitalists,  and  our  orders  with  our  own 
manufacturers,  who,  in  the  past,  have  been  always 
abundantly  able  to  meet  every  need  and  demand  of 
the  government  and  of  the  people. 

"  The  people  have  before  them  in  the  near  future  a 
greater  and  broader  contest  to  wage,  which  will  give 
the  control  of  the  government,  as  I  believe,  back  to  the 
Republican  party.  Until  then  we  can  do  nothing 
but  wait,  as  patiently  as  we  can,  and  submit  to  the 
inevitable,  hard  as  it  is. 

"  If  anybody  thinks  that  our  wage-earners,  our 
farmers,  our  trades-people,  and  the  great  masses  of 
our  countrymen,  in  common  with  them,  are  going  to 
be  satisfied  permanently  with  the  adjustment  of  their 
w:»<rcs  and  prices,  business  and  markets,  to  the  present 
Democratic  standard,  they  will  very  soon  discover 
their  fatal  error. 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

"  The  people  believe  in  the  industrial  policy  which 
promotes,  not  retards,  American  enterprises,  and  dig- 
nifies, not  degrades,  American  labor,  and  they  will 
take  power  away  from  any  party  that  stands  in  the 
way  of  the  success  .of  that  policy.  [Applause.]  They 
believe  in  protection  and  reciprocity,  and  will  give 
power  to  the  party  which  wisely  and  fearlessly  main- 
tains them,  and  will  take  power  away  from  the  party 
which  has  weakened  or  destroyed  them.  They  be- 
lieve that  we  should  produce  our  own  sugar,  make 
our  own  tin  plate,  and  we  mean  to  do  both.  They 
believe  we  should  do  all  our  other  work  at  home 
without  being  forced  to  pay  honest  labor  starvation 
wages.  [Great  applause.]  They  do  not  propose  tc 
give  up  permanently  anything  they  have  gained  in 
the  industrial  world  in  the  last  thirty  years,  and 
they  would  rather  hold  it  by  retaining  a  Protective 
Tariff  than  to  hold  it  by  reducing  wages  below  the 
true  American  standard.  [Prolonged  applause.] 

"  We  want,  above  all,  to  be  Americans,  in  the 
truest  and  best  sense ;  and  why  should  not  Ameri- 
cans legislate  for  themselves?  Whose  country  is 
this,  anyhow  ?  [Tremendous  applause  and  laughter.] 
We  want  neither  European  policies  engrafted  into 
our  laws,  nor  European  conditions  forced  upon  our 
people;  and  we  will  have  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other..  It  is  often  said  that  we  want  enough  money 
to  meet  the  needs  of  business,  but  just  now  the  thin;.;' 
we  need  most  is  business  itself,  and  rest  assured,  the 
more  business  we  do  the  more  money  we  will  have," 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS'  279 

Mr.  Milner,  of  Plainfield— "  Amen." 

"  We  know  just  what  we  want,  for  we  have  had  it 
before.  [Applause.]  We  know  when  we  lost  it, 
and  how  we  lost  it  [laughter]  ;  and  knowing  this,  we 
•know  just  how  to  get  it  back  again.  [Renewed 
laughter ;  applause.] 

"  Here  is  a  case  were  knowledge  is  power  ;  and  I 
have  never  known  the  people  quite  so  eager  to  vote 
with  their  new  information  and  recent  business  ex- 
perience to  guide  them.  B,est  assured  when  at  length 
they  do  have  an  opportunity  they  will  vote  back  into 
power  that  great  party  of  protection  which  encom- 
passes in  its  legislation  and  policies  the  good  of  all 
the  section  and  of  all  the  people  of  the  whole 
country.  [Tremendous  applause.]  And  that  policy 
will  come  back  to  stay. 

"  What  we  want  in  this  country  is  a  general  re- 
sumption of  business.  We  want  the  restoration  of 
prosperity  and  confidence  which  we  enjoyed  before 
the  change.  Business  at  home  will  bring  it,  and  it 
will  bring  good  money,  too,  in  abundance,  and  neither 
will  come  in  any  other  way.  You  will  not  restore 
active  business  and  good  wages  by  a  policy  which 
transplants  any  part  of  our  established  business  to 
Europe.  No  matter  what  kind  of  a  currency  we 
have  it  will  not  rekindle  idle  furnaces  and  employ 
idle  men  so  long  as  we  go  abroad  for  our  products 
winch  can  be  made  at  home  because  of  the  cheaper 
labor  prevailing  there.  If  we  do  our  work  at  home 
our  labor  at  home  will  be  employed,  and  the  wages 


280  CONTEASTED   CONDITIONS 

paid  at  home  will  be  spent  at  home.  This  is  the 
philosophy  of  protection,  and  it  cannot  be  abandoned, 
amended  or  abated." 

[Springfield,  O.,  September  10th,  1895.] 

"  My  friends,  there  is  one  objection  to  the  law,  if 
there  were  no  others,  which  must  make  its  perma- 
nency impossible.  It  fails  to  raise  the  needed  reve- 
nues for  the  daily  expenses  of  the  government. 
That  would  condemn  it  in  the  judgment  of  the 
American  people  whatever  differing  views  they 
might  have  on  the  question  of  protection  and  free 
trade.  The  law  from  the  date  of  its  enactment  to 
the  present  time — and  it  is  now  a  year  old — has  not 
raised  enough  money  from  customs  duties  and  inter- 
nal revenue  combined  to  meet  the  necessary  expenses 
of  the  government.  The  result  has  been  a  monthly 
deficiency.  No  law  like  that  can  be  approved  by 
the  American  people,  for  they  prefer  Protective 
Tariffs  to  an  increased  and  increasing  bonded  in- 
debtedness, and  they  would  rather  have  a  safe  bal- 
ance in  the  treasury  than  a  deficiency,  and  even  a 
surplus,  to  a  tainted  public  credit. 

"  The  operation  of  that  law  in  respect  to  its  reve- 
nues alone,  independent  of  any  other  consideration, 
is  vitally  important  in  this  discussion.  It  is  worth 
while  to  know  from  official  sources  the  revenue-rais- 
ing power,  both  of  the  law  of  1890  and  that  of  1894. 
The  people  themselves  know  from  their  own  experi- 
ence the  difference  between  the  two  laws  in  respect 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  281 

to  their  own  incomes  and  the  general  business  of  the 
country.  It  is  unjustly  charged  that  the  Republican 
law  of  1890  was  incapable  of  supplying  the  needed 
revenues  for  the  government,  and  that  the  deficien- 
cies in-  the  treasury,  which  have  occurred  since  the 
incoming  Cleveland  administration,  were  directly 
traceable  to  it.  The  Republican  tariff  law  went 
into  effect  in  October,  1890.  The  receipts  under  it 
for  the  first  nine  months,  commencing  October  1st, 

1890,  to  July  1st,  1891,  were :  From  customs,  $153,- 
287,831.47  ;  from  internal  revenue,  $106,436,500.01 ; 
the  receipts  from  miscellaneous  sources  were  $22,- 
118,356.21.     The  total  receipts  for  that  period  were 
$281,842,687.69.     The  expenditures  for  that  period 
of  nine  months,  from  October  1st,  1890,  to  July  1st, 

1891,  were  $280,710,748.34.     The  receipts,  there- 
fore, exceeded  the  expenditures  by  $1,131,939.35. 
There  was  no  deficiency  up  to  this  time.     The  re- 
ceipts under  the  Republican  law  of  1890,  from  July 
1st,  1891,  to  July  1st,  1892,  were:  From  customs, 
$177,452,964.15 ;  from  internal  revenue,  $153,971,- 
072.57  ;  the  receipts  from  miscellaneous  sources  were 
$23,513,747.52;     total    receipts,    $354,937,784.24. 
The  total  expenditures  of  the  government  for  that 
year  were   $345,023,330.58,  showing   an  excess  of 
receipts  over  expenditures  of  $9,914,453.66.     There 
was  no    deficiency  up  to  this  time.     The   receipts 
under  the  Republican  tariff  law  for  the  fiscal  year 
commencing    July    1st,    1892,    and    ending   July 
1st,  1893,  were:  From   customs,  $203,355,016.73; 


283  CONTKASTED   CONDITIONS 

from  internal  revenue,  $161,027,623.93  ;  the  receipts 
from  miscellaneous  sources  were,  $21,436,988.12 ; 
total  receipts  for  fiscal  year  of  1893,  $385,819,628.- 
78.  The  total  expenditures  for  that  year  were  $383,- 
477,954.49,  an  excess  of  receipts  over  expenditures 
of  $2,341,674.29.  There  was  no  deficiency  up  to 
this  time. 

"  Now,  in  that  year,  1893,  on  March  4th,  the 
present  Democratic  administration  came  into  power, 
pledged  to  reverse  the  protective  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment, which  had  existed  for  more  than  thirty 

•/ 

years.  Then  there  were  distrust  and  consternation 
in  every  business  circle.  No  business  man  knew 
what  to  do,  for  he  could  not  predict  what  the  party  in 
power  would  do.  Business  collapsed.  Panic  and  fail- 
ures followed.  Then  the  receipts  commenced  to  fall 
off,  as  I  will  show  you.  The  receipts  from  July  1st, 
1893,  to  July  1st,  1894>  during  all  of  which  period 
the  Cleveland  administration  was  in  control  of  every 
branch  of  the  government,  were :  From  customs, 
$131,818,530.62;  from  internal  revenue,  $147,111,- 
232.81 ;  the  receipts  from  miscellaneous  sources  were 
$18,792,255.82 ;  total  receipts  $297,722,019.25. 
The  total  expenditures  during  that  period  were 
$367,525,279.83.  Here  occurs  the  first  deficiency. 
Here  is  the  first  time  that  the  receipts  fell  short  of 
the  expenditures  of  the  government,  the  deficiency 
being$69,803,260.58.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  there  was 
a  deficiency  when  we  consider  the  condition  of  panic, 
poverty,  and  business  paralysis  which  prevailed  at  that 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  283 

time  and  which  immediately  followed  the  restoration 
to  full  power  of  the  Democratic  party  ?  The  law  con- 
tinued in  operation  until  August,  1894,  and  for  the 
mouths  of  July  and  August,  1894,  the  receipts  from 
customs  were :  $26,828,595.47 ;  from  internal  rev- 
enue, $25,252,094.89 ;  the  receipts  from  miscel- 
laneous sources  were  $2,715,971.13 ;  total  receipts, 

,796,661.49.  The  total  expenditures  for  those 
two  months  were  $68,305,219.38,  a  deficiency  of 

'.,508,557.89.  On  August  28th,  1894,  the  Brice- 
Gorman  Act  went  into  operation.  The  receipts 
under  that  law  from  September  1st,  1894,  to  September 
1st,  1895,  were  :  From  customs,  $161,391,367.76  ; 
from  internal  revenue,  $115,877,954.01 ;  the  receipts 
from  miscellaneous  sources  were  $15,089,503.98; 
total  receipts  for  that  year,  $292,358,825.75.  The 
expenditures  during  this  first  year  were  $358,953,- 
0-5.23,  an  excess  of  expenditures  over  receipts  for 
the  first  year  of  this  Democratic  Tariff  Act  of  $66,- 
594,489.48.  During  the  first  year,  under  the  Brice- 
Gorman  law,  the  receipts  from  customs  and  internal 
revenue  were  $276,269,321.77.  During  the  first 
fiscal  year,  under  the  Republican  Tariff  law,  receipts 
from  customs  and  internal  revenue  were  $331,424,- 
036.72,  a  difference  in  favor  of  the  Republican  law 
of  $55,000,000.  Under  the  Republican  law  sugar 
WMS  free;  under  the  Democratic  law  sugar  is  taxed. 
Even  in  the  last  fiscal  year  when  the  Republican  law 
in  operation,  with  universal  di  throughout 

the  country,  there  wus  more  money  collected  from 


284  CONTKASTED   CONDITION'S 

customs  duties  and  internal  revenue  than  was  col- 
lected during  the  first  year  under  the  Democratic 
Brice-Gorman  Tariff  law. 

"  The  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  United 
States  Treasury,  on  the  31st  day  of  August  1895, 
shows  an  excess  of  expenditures  over  receipts  for  the 
month  of  August  of  $3,693,103.30. 

"  During  the  first  nine  months  of  the  Tariff  law  of 
1890  the  receipts  from  customs  and  internal  revenue 
equaled  within  $17,000,000  the  total  receipts  from 
customs  and  internal  revenue  of  twelve  months  un- 
der the  Brice-Gorman  law.  The  average  monthly 
receipts  from  customs  .and  internal  revenue,  under 
the  Republican  law,  for  the  first  nine  months,  was 
over  $28,000,000,  and  under  the  Brice-Gorman  law 
was  $33,000,000. 

"  The  average  monthly  receipts  from  customs  duties 
during  the  operation  of  the  Republican  Tariff  law 
were  $17,066,774.67  ;  the  average  monthly  receipts 
from  customs  duties  under  the  Democratic  Tariff  law 
of  1894  were  $13,167,533.63— a  difference  in  favor 
of  the  Republican  law  of  $3,899,241.04  per  month. 
One  thing  must  not  be  forgotten — that  at  no  time 
from  the  passage  of  the  Republican  Tariff  law  of 
1890  down  to  the  close  of  President  Harrison's  ad- 
ministration did  that  law  fail  to  raise  all  the  revenue 
needed  to  meet  every  expense  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment, and  during  no  part  of  that  period  did  the 
gold  reserve  fall  below  $100,000,000.  The  revenue- 
vaising  power  of  the  Republican  Tariff  law  was  only 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  285 

crippled  and  impaired  after  the  country  had  placed 
in  power  a  full  Democratic  administration  pledged  to 
overthrow  it. 

"  It  is  loudly  proclaimed  through  the  Democratic 
press  that  prosperity  has  come.  I  sincerely  hope 
that  it  has.  Whatever  prosperity  we  have  has  been 
a  long  time  coming,  and  after  nearly  three  years  of 
business  depression,  a  ruinous  panic,  and  a  painful 
and  widespread  suffering  among  the  people,  I  pray 
that  we  may  be  at  the  dawn  of  better  times  and  of 
enduring  prosperity.  I  have  believed  it  would  come, 
in  some  measure,  with  every  successive  Republican 
victory.  I  have  urged  for  two  years  past  that  the 
election  of  a  Republican  Congress  would  strip  the 
Democratic  party  of  power  to  further  cripple  the 
enterprises  of  the  country,  and  would  be  the  begin- 
ning of  a  return  of  confidence,  and  that  general  and 
permanent  prosperity  could  only  come  when  the 
Democratic  party  was  voted  out  of  power  in  every 
branch  of  the  national  government,  and  the  Repub- 
lican party  voted  in,  pledged  to  repeal  their  destruc- 
tive and  un-American  legislation,  which  has  so 
seriously  impaired  the  prosperity  of  the  people  and 
the  revenues  and  credit  of  the  government. 

"It  is  a  most  significant  fact,  however,  that  the 
activity  in  business  we  have  now  is  chiefly  confined 
to  those  branches  of  industry  which  the  Democratic 
party  was  forced  to  leave  with  some  protection, 
notably,  iron  and  steel.  There  is  no  substantial  im- 
provement in  those  branches  of  domestic  industry 


286  CONTRASTED  CONDITIONS 

where  the  lower  duties,  or  no  duties  of  the  Demo- 
cratic tariff,  have  sharpened  and  increased  foreign 
competition.  These  industries  are  still  lifeless ;  and 
if  not  lifeless  are  unsatisfactory  and  unprofitable, 
both  to  capital  and  labor. 

"  There  is  a  studied  effort  in  certain  quarters  to 
show  that  the  apparent  prosperity  throughout  the 
country  is  the  result  of  Democratic  tariff  legislation. 
I  do  not  think  that  those  who  assert  this  honestly  and 
sincerely  believe  it.  It  is  worth  remembering,  and 
can  never  be  forgotten,  that  there  was  no  revival  of 
business,  no  return  of  confidence  or  gleam  of  hope  in 
business  circles  until  the  elections  of  1894,  which,  by 
unprecedented  majorities,  gave  the  popular  branch 
of  Congress  to  the  Republican  party,  and  took  away 
from  the  Democratic  party  the  power  to  do  further 
harm  to  the  industries  of  the  country  and  the  occu- 
pations of  the  people.  This  was  the  aim,  meaning, 
and  purpose  of  that  vote.  With  the  near  and  certain 
return  of  the  Republican  party  to  full  possession  of 
power  in  the  United  States,  conies  naturally  and 
logically  increased  faith  in  the  country  and  an  assur- 
ance to  business  men  that  for  years  to  come  they  will 
have  rest  and  relief  from  Democratic  in  competency 
in  the  management  of  the  industrial  and  financial 
affairs  of  the  government.  Whatever  prosperity  we 
are  having  (and  just  how  much  nobody  seems  to  know) 
and  with  all  hoping  for  the  best,  and  hoping  that  it 
may  stay  and  increase,  and  yet  all  breathless  with  sus- 
pense, is  in  spite  of  Democratic  legislation,  and  not  be- 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  287 

cause  of  it.  You  would  suppose  in  reading  some  of  the 
Democratic  newspapers  and  Democratic  literature  of 
the  country  that  there  has  been  a  wonderful  increase 
of  wages,  and  the  Democratic  leaders  are  claiming  it 
as  the  direct  result  of  Democratic  tariff  legislation.  It 
is  true  there  has  been  an  increase  in  wages  in  some 
brunches  of  industry,  but  a  careful  analysis  will  show 
that  wherever  the  increase  has  been  had,  it  has  been 
in  those  departments  of  industry  where  protection 
\vas  not  wholly  withdrawn  or  the  least  withdrawn, 
or  where  the  home  markets  are  secure  from  foreign 
competition ;  and  where  there  is  the  most  protec- 
tion there  will  be  found  the  best  wages.  Consider- 
ing the  condition  in  which  the  country  has  been  for 
two  years  and  a  half,  any  amount  of  work  resumed, 
no  matter  how  little ;  any  increase  in  the  demand 
for  labor,  no  matter  how  insignificant,  would  mean 
more  and  better  wages.  For*two  years  and  a  half 
wages  were  not  only  abnormally  low,  but  employ- 
ment was  so  scarce  and  employes  so  plenty  that  they 
could  be  had  upon  any  terms  and  at  any  price.  It 
was  not  a  question  of  wage ;  it  was  a  question  of 
work;  and  men,  rather  than  accept  charity,  and  in 
order  that  they  might  give  their  families  even  scanty 
support,  were  ready  to  work  at  any  price  and  sit 
any  employment.  It  must  be  remembered  also 
that  in  the  fewest  branches  of  industry,  if  any, 
wage  scale  has  been  restored  to  what  it  was  in  1 
The  increase  of  wtigos  in  1895,  much  as  it  may  be 
and  gratifying  as  it  is,  does  not  equal  the  decrease  of 


288  CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

wages  from  1892  to  1895  ;  and  there  is  yet  a  vast 
difference,  as  every  workingman  realizes,  between  the 
price  paid  labor  now  and  the  price  paid  labor  before 
the  Democratic  party  took  control,  in  March,  1893. 
This  difference  represents  much,  very  much,  to  the 
workingmen  of  the  country,  and  deprives  many  fire- 
sides of  the  comforts  they  enjoyed  before  1893. 
Moreover,  not  only  are  the  wages  less  now  than  in 
1892,  but  a  vast  number  of  men  employed  then  are 
out  of  employment  now.  I  do  not  propose  to  make 
comparisons  between  the  wages  paid  labor  now  and 
the  wages  paid  labor  prior  to  1893.  That  is  unnec- 
essary. Every  man  who  labors  in  this  country 
knows  whether  he  is  employed  now  as  satisfactorily 
and  steadily  as  then,  and  whether  he  is  paid  as  well 
now  as  he  was  when  Republican  policies  were  in 
operation  during  Republican  administrations.  Every 
workingman  knows  what  his  pay-roll  is  now,  and 
knows  what  his  pay-roll  was  then ;  and  he  knows  it 
better  than  anybody  can  tell  him ;  and  he  knows 
better  than  anybody  else  the  exact  measure  of  differ- 
ence between  the  wages  he  receives  now  and  the 
wages  he  received  then.  Nor  is  he  in  doubt  as  to 
the  cause  of  this  difference.  He  knows  when  he  lost 
it  and  how  he  lost  it ;  and  he  will  vote  at  every 
opportunity  in  opposition  to  the  party  whose  policy 
he  believes  produced  it.  This  subject,  therefore,  can 
well  be  left  with  the  laboring  men  of  the  country. 

"  No  one  can  observe  the  shrinkage  of  the  wool  pro- 
duction in   the  United   States  without  being  pro- 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  289 

founuly  impressed  with  the  injustice  and  cr-inu,  of 
that  part  of  the  tariff  law  of  1894,  which  places  wool 
upon  the  free  list.  Among  the  heaviest  losses  since 
1893  are  those  of  Pennsylvania,  which  has  fallen 
from  9,823,296  pounds  to  5,899,867  pounds ;  Texas, 
from  30,341,857  pounds  to  22,669,809  pounds ;  West 
Virginia,  from  4,627,887  pounds  to  2,149,393  pounds; 
Ohio,  from  21,893,625  pounds  to  18,534,610  pounds ; 
Michigan,  from  16,370,536  pounds  to  12,140,524 
pounds ;  California,  from  26,808,444  pounds  to  23,- 
153,956  pounds;  and  New  York,  from  9,328,300 
pounds  to  6,250,392  pounds.  The  total  product  of 
the  United  States  for  1893  was  348,538,138  pounds. 
In  1894,  325,210,712  pounds,  and  in  1895,  294,296,- 
726  pounds.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  wool-growers 
of  Ohio,  in  their  convention  at  Columbus,  last 
Wednesday,  September  4th,  unanimously  adopted 
{he  following  resolution : 

" '  Resolved,  That  the  singling  out  of  wool  among 
«jo-called  raw  materials  for  sacrifice  by  the  late  Con- 
gress, while  the  "  less  important  ones  were  cared  for 
and  protected,  was  an  outrage  upon  agriculture,  in- 
volving far  greater  evils  than  party  perfidy  and  party 
dishonor/'  and  should  be  resented  at  the  polls  and 
elsewhere  in  every  proper  way/ 

"  Mr.  Briee  will  not  be  long  in  discovering  that  the 
farmers  of  the  State  of  Ohio  do  not  accept  the  law 
of  the  trusts  and  combinations  as  the  final  settlement 
of  this  great  economic  question.  This  subject  can 
well  be  left  with  the  intelligent  farmers  of  Ohio. 


290  CONTKASTED   CONDITIONS 

They  will  have  the  opportunity  at  the  coming  elec« 
tion  to  directly  commend  or  condemn  our  junior 
Senator  in  striking  down  one  of  their  greatest  in- 
dustries and  chief  sources  of  revenue.  They  will  not 
forget  that  our  candidate  for  Senator,  ex-Governor 
Foraker,  is  opposed  to  free  wool,  but  favors  full  and 
just  protection  to  this  most  important  industry." 

THE  TWO   PARTIES   ON   SILVER. 

The  two  skeleton  maps  show  far  more  impressively 
than  any  array  of  figures  could  how  the  two  parties 
stand  on  the  question  of  free-silver  coinage  and  honest 
money.  On  the  Republican  map  all  the  States  in 
which  the  Republican  party  is  for  free  coinage,  and 
also  all  the  States  in  which  it  is  doubtful  on  the  sub- 
ject and  has  dodged  or  straddled  it,  are  shaded, 
The  figures  on  each  State  show  the  number  of  elec- 
toral votes  to  which  it  is  entitled,  the  delegates  in 
National  Convention  being  double  that  number.  At 
a  glance  it  is  seen  that  the  battle  has  been  fought 
and  won  in  all  the  great  States  of  the  North  and 
West  as  far  as  the  western  line  of  the  Dakotas  and 
Kansas,  and  also  in  Oregon,  Wyoming,  and  Wash- 
ington, and  that  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Alabama, 
iron  and  coal-producing  States,  have  .broken  through 
the  centre  of  the  South,  while  West  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina  have  also  joined  the  right  side. 

But  the  Southern  States  are  not  needed  to  elect  a 
President.  The  solid  body  of  Northern  States  be- 


SENATOR  CUSHMAN  K.  DAVIS. 


SENATOR  HENRY  C.  LODGE. 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  893 

tween  the  Atlantic  and  the  western  border  of  the 
Dakotas  and  Kansas,  now  all  Republican,  including 
Missouri,  West  Virginia,  and  Kentucky,  are  of  one 
mind  on  the  silver  question.  They  cast,  including 
Wyoming,  302  electoral  votes,  or  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole,  without  any  from  the  South  or 
the  Pacific  Coast.  In  all  these  States  the  Republi- 
cans had  at  the  last  election  a  plurality,  and  in  all 
except  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Nebraska,  which 
have  thirty-eight  votes,  it  had  a  clear  majority  over 
Democrats,  Populists,  and  Silver  men  added  together. 
The  Democratic  map  presents  a  vast  dark  body 
with  a  few  white  spots.  The  States  that  have  de- 
clared against  free-silver  coinage  are  white — namely, 
the  eleven  Eastern  States,  Minnesota,  Michigan,  and 
South  Dakota.  The  States  which  have  not  yet  de- 
clared or  have  evaded  the  question  are  half  shaded — 
namely,  Wisconsin,  North  Dakota,  and  Louisiana. 
All  the  other  States  are  fully  shaded,  the  Democratic 
party  in  each  of  these  States  having  declared  in  con- 
vention or  by  choice  of  delegates  for  free-silver 
coinage.  Including  all  the  undecided  and  doubtful, 
the  anti-silver  Democrats  might  muster  over  a  third 
of  the  delegates  in  Convention,  but  far  short  of  a 
majority.  No  man  of  practical  sense  can  look  on 
the  map  and  imagine  that  the  almost  solid  Democ- 
racy of  the  West  and  South  is  going  to  yield  its  pas- 
sionately-cherished opinions  to  the  small  fraction  of 
the  party  at  the  East, 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS 

The  figures  do  not  quite  tell  the  whole  story.  For 
generations  the  seat  of  power  in  the  Democratic 
party,  its  home  and  its  citadel,  has  been  the  South. 
The  Democrats  of  the  North  and  West  have  been  a 
subject  race,  from  boyhood  educated  to  obey  the  dic- 
tation of  Southern  leaders,  to  accept  and  fight  for 
their  theories,  and  to  take  without  flinching  the 
popular  disfavor  and  the  annual  beating  which  sup- 
port of  such  theories  involved  in  most  Northern 
States.  It  is  past  conception  that  a  Northern  or 
Eastern  Democrat  should  hope  to  defy  and  resist  the 
power  which  has  ruled  the  party  for  more  than  half 
a  century.  The  great  body  of  its  electoral  votes  has 
always  come  from  the  South,  far  more  than  half  its 
votes  in  Congress,  nearly  all  of  its  experienced  men 
and  practiced  leaders  in  either  House.  But  the 
home  and  citadel  of  the  Republican  party  has  always 
been  the  free  North,  originally  the  Eastern  and  Cen- 
tral States,  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi, 
including  later  their  many  children  of  the  West.  In 
that  region  the  convictions  of  the  Republican  party 
are  formed,  its  electoral  votes  are  secured,  and  most 
of  its  votes  in  Congress.  The  opinions  of  the  East 
and  Central  North  are  as  certain  to  shape  the  action 
of  the  Republican  as  the  opinions  of  the  South  are 
to  shape  the  action  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Let  business  men  throughout  the  country  contrast 
these  two  pictures,  and  it  will  not  take  them  long  to 
judge  which  party  they  can  trust  in  any  question  of 
money  or  finance.  The  ideas  of  the  South  are  those 


CONTRASTED   CONDITIONS  295 

of  the  plantation.  The  Republican  ^arty  Is  of 
necessity,  as  it  ever  has  been,  the  instrument  by 
•which  the  millions  of  wage-earners  and  of  business 
men  have  defended  and  promoted  their  interests. 
The  North  tests  every  question  of  money  by  the 
needs  of  the  wage-earners  and  the  business  men. 
For  more  than  thirty  years  they  have  been  perpetu- 
ally assailed  and  often  imperilled  by  the  theories 
and  crazy  notions  of  the  Democratic  party,  never 
more  unreasoning  or  more  dangerous  than  now, 
when  it  has  gone  mad  over  free  coinage  of  silver. 
To  intrust  power  to  such  a  party  was  the  height  of 
folly  in  1892,  when  its  destructive  capacity  had  not 
been  tested.  To-day  it  would  be  for  wage-earners 
and  business  men  an  act  of  impossible  madness. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SOME  VIEWS   ON    PUBLIC   QUESTIONS. 

Humorous  speeches— The  feeder  of  Great  Britain— A  leap  in  the 
dark — Give  the  officials  scope — Importance  of  agriculture — 
Arbitration — Respect  and  retrospect — Let  England  take  care 
of  herself. 

IT  will  be  interesting  to  quote  a  few  paragraphs 
from  the  humorous  speeches  made  by  Governor 
McKinley.     In   support  of  the  tariff  commis- 
sion in  1882  he  aroused  the  attention  of  the  country, 
and  indicated  to  old  politicians  that  a  new  force  was 
arising  in  national  politics,  and  that  it  was  well  to 
watch   the  career  of  William  McKinley.     In  the 
House  he  said  then : 

"  Who  has  demanded  a  tariff  for  revenue  only, 
such  as  is  advocated  by  our  friends  on  the  other 
side?  What  portion  of  our  citizens?  What  part 
of  our  population  ?  Not  the  agriculturist ;  not  the 
laborer;  not  the  mechanic;  not  the  manufacturer; 
not  a  petition  before  us,  to  my  knowledge,  ask- 
ing for  an  adjustment  of  tariff  rates  to  a  revenue 
basis.  England  wants  it,  demands  it — not  for  our 
good,  but  hers;  for  she  is  more  anxious  to  main- 

296 


PUBLIC    QUESTIONS  297 

tain  her  old  position  of  supremacy  than  she  is  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  people  of  this 
republic,  and  a  great  party  in  this  country  voices  her 
interests.  Our  tariffs  interfere  with  her  profits. 
They  keep  at  home  what  she  wants.  We  are  inde- 
pendent of  her ;  not  she  of  us.  She  would  have 
America  the  feeder  of  Great  Britain,  or,  as  Lord 
Sheffield  put  it,  she  would  be '  the  monopoly  of  our 
consumption  and  the  carriage  of  our  produce/  She 
would  manufacture  for  us,  and  permit  us  to  raise 
wheat  and  corn  for  her.  We  are  satisfied  to  do  the 
latter,  but  unwilling  to  concede  to  her  the  monopoly 
of  the  former. 

"  Manufacturers,  farmers,  laboring  men,  indeed  all 
the  industrial  classes  in  the  United  States,  are  sever- 
ally and  jointly  interested  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
present  or  a  better  tariff  law  which  shall  recognize  in 
all  its  force  the  protection  of  American  producers  and 
American  productions.  Our  first  duty  is  to  our  own 
citizens. 

"  Free  trade  may  be  suitable  to  Great  Britain  and 
its  peculiar  social  and  political  structure,  but  it  has 
no  place  in  this  republic,  where  classes  are  unknown, 
and  where  caste  has  long  since  been  banished ;  where 
equality  is  a  rule ;  where  labor  is  dignified  and  hon- 
orable ;  where  education  and  improvement  are  the 
individual  striving  of  every  citizen,  no  matter  what 
may  be  the  accident  of  his  birth,  or  the  poverty  of 
his  early  surroundings.  Here  the  mechanic  of  to-day 
is  the  manufacturer  of  a  few  years  hence.  Under 


898  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

such  conditions,  free  trade  can  have  no  abiding  place 
here.     We  are  doing  very  well ;  no  other  nation  has 
done  better,  or  makes  a  better  showing  in  the  world's 
balance  sheet.     We  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
progress  thus  far  made,  and  contented  with  our  out- 
look for  the  future.    .We  know  what  we  have  done 
and  what  we  can  do  under  the  policy  of  protection. 
We  have  had  some  experience  with  a  revenue  tariff, 
which  neither  inspires  hope,  nor  courage,  nor  confi- 
dence.    Our  own  history    condemns  the  policy  we 
oppose,  and  it  is  the  best  vindication  of  the  policy 
which  we  advocate.    It  needs  no  other.    It  furnished 
us  in  part  the  money  to  prosecute  the  war  for  the 
Union   to   a   successful  termination ;  it  has  assisted 
largely  in  furnishing  the  revenue  to  meet  our  great 
public  expenditures  and  diminish  with  unparalleled 
rapidity  our  great  national  debt ;  it  has  contributed 
in  securing  to  us  an  unexampled  credit ;  it  has  de- 
veloped the  resources  of  the  country  and  quickened 
the  energies  of  our  people  ;  it  has  made  us  what  the 
nation  should  be,  independent  and  self-reliant ;  it  has 
made  us  industrious   in  peace,  and  secured  us  inde- 
pendence in  war  ;  and  we  find  ourselves  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  century  of  the  republic  without  a 
superior  in  industrial  arts,  without  an  equal  in  com- 
mercial prosperity,with  a  sound  financial  system,  with 
an  overflowing  treasury,  blest  at  home  and  at  peace 
with  all  mankind.     Shall  we  reverse  the  policy  which 
has  rewarded  us  with  such  magnificent  results  ?  Shall 
we   abandon    the  policy   which  pursued  for  twenty 


PUBLIC    QUESTIONS  299 

years,  has  produced  such  unparalleled  growth  and 
prosperity  ?" 

The  Morrison  tariff  bill,  which  proposed  a  hori- 
zontal reduction  of  the  Act  of  1883,  was  under  dis- 
cussion in  the  House  on  April  30th,  1884,  and  in 
closing  his  speech  in  opposition,  Representative 
McKinley  said  in  conclusion  : 

"  Every  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  this 
country  will  be  injuriously  affected  by  this  proposed 
change,  and  no  man  can  predict  the  extent  of  it.  The 
producers  of  cottons  and  woolens,  of  iron,  steel,  and 
glass,  must  suffer  disastrously  if  this  bill  is  enacted 
into  law  ;  and  the  proprietors  of  these  establishments 
are  neither  robbers  nor  highwaymen,  as  the  free- 
traders love  to  characterize  them.  They  have  been 
real  benefactors,  and  while  some  of  them  have  grown 
opulent,  in  the  main  they  do  not  represent  the  rich 
classes  of  the  country.  Their  entire  capital  is  in 
active  employment.  Many  of  them  are  large  bor- 
rowers. Your  proposed  action  will  affect  the  values 
of  their  plants,  unless  except  for  the  purposes  em- 
ployed, will  diminish  the  value  of  their  invested 
capital,  will  decrease  their  sales  and  the  ability  of 
their  customers  to  buy,  and  in  many  cases  result  in 
total  overthrow  and  bankruptcy.  You  can  do  this, 
if  you  will.  You  have  the  power  in  this  House  to 
accomplish  this  great  wrong;  but  let  me  beg  you  to 
pause  before  you  commence  the  work  of  destroying 
a  great  economic  system  under  which  the  country 
has  grown  and  prospered  far  in  advance  of  every 


300  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

other  nation  of  the  world.  A  system  established  by 
the  founders  of  the  government,  recognized  by  the  first 
Congress  which  ever  sat  and  deliberated  in  council 
in  this  nation,  sanctioned  in  the  second  Act  ever 
passed  by  Congress,  upheld  by  our  greatest  states- 
men, living  or  dead,  vindicated  by  great  results  and 
justified  by  all  our  experience,  achieving  industrial 
triumphs  without  a  parallel  in  the  world's  history. 
Its  maintenance  is  yet  essential  to  our  progress  and 
prosperity.  The  step  proposed  is  a  grave  one.  No 
man  on  this  floor  can  determine  its  consequences  or 
predict  its  results. 

"  It  is  a  leap  in  the  dark.  No  interest  is  press- 
ing it.  No  national  necessity  demands  it.  No 
true  American  wants  it.  If  it  is  a  party  neces- 
sity to  enforce  Democratic  doctrines  and  disci- 
pline a  little  segment  of  the  party,  you  can  afford 
to  wait,  or  clear  your  decks  of  mutineers  in  some 
other  way  :  let  the  ship  be  saved,  and  punish  your 
insubordinate  associates  without  endangering  great 
interests  temporarily  confided  to  your  care.  The 
interests  of  this  great  people  are  higher  and  greater 
than  the  ambitions  or  interests  of  any  party.  The 
free-traders  have  already  demonstrated  that  they  are 
in  control  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  they  are  a 
large  majority  of  that  political  organization ;  but 
they  are  happily  in  the  minority  in  this  country. 
They  may  dictate  the  policy  here  by  party  caucus, 
they  may  disturb  the  business  of  the  country  while 
yet  in  power,  but  they  will  not,  under  the  policy 


PUBLIC    QUESTIONS  301 

they  are  now  pursuing,  be  long  permitted  to  dominate 
the  popular  branch  of  Congress,  happily  the  only 
branch  of  the  government  which  they  now  control." 

On  July  14th,  1886,  there  was  under  discussion  a 
resolution  from  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
directing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  pay  a  part 
of  the  surplus — which  had  given  Grover  Cleveland  so 
much  trouble,  but  which  has  not  existed  in  his 
present  administration — on  the  public  debt.  Major 
McKinley  made  an  extended  speech  on  the  subject 
which  teemed  with  figures.  His  remarks  then  are 
particularly  important  now,  showing  as  they  do  that 
he  did  not  believe  the  hands  of  the  President 
should  be  tied  ;  in  other  words  were  he  in  Congress 
now  he  would  be  active  in  opposition  to  the  Demo- 
cratic and  Populistic  proposition  to  repeal  the  author- 
ity to  issue  bonds.  The  Major  said,  among  other 
things : 

"  I  believe  it  to  be  a  judicious  thing  to  give  the 
officers  charged  with  the  management  of  the  finan- 
cial affairs  of  the  government,  charged  by  the  people, 
the  power  to  call  the  bonds  or  withhold  a  call  for 
bonds  whenever  the  condition  of  the  treasury  will 
permit  the  one  or  the  other.  The  hands  of  the 
President  and  Secretary  should  not  be  tied ;  they 
should  have  full  power  to  act  under  the  laws  as  they 
are,  and  then  be  held  to  the  highest  responsibility 
and  strictest  accountability.  Therefore,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, unless  the  amendment  I  offered  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  discussion,  and  another  amendment 


303  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

wliicli  will  be  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Maine 
(Mr.  Reed),  and  still  another  which  will  be  pre- 
sented by  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  (Mr. 
Long),  shall  be  adopted  by  this  house,  I  shall  feel 
constrained  to  give  a  negative  vote  on  the  resolution 
presented  by  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 
Of  course,  we  cannot  help,  I  cannot  help,  no  gentle- 
man on  this  side  can  help,  the  Democratic  party 
voting  to-day  a  want  of  confidence  in  its  own  admin- 
istration. We  cannot  prevent  you  from  passing  a 
vote  of  condemnation  on  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  his  Secretary,  and  that  is  what  this  reso- 
lution means  if  it  becomes  a  law,  and  that  is  what 
you  are  doing  when  you  vote  for  it." 

Major  McKinley  has  always  appreciated  the  im- 
portance of  tfc.e  agriculturist  in  our  national  life. 
He  delivered  a  most  eulogistic  speech  before  the 
Ohio  State  Grange,  on  December  13th,  1887,  of 
which  the  following  are  extracts : 

"  Farmers  could  manage  to  exist  rather  generously, 
if  not  luxuriously,  without  us,  but  we  could  not  well 
exist  without  them. 

"  Agriculture  may  fairly  be  classed  as  the  founda- 
tion of  all  industries;  it  is  intimately  related  to 
sv*ry  field  of  labor.  No  matter  what  our  employ- 
ment, we  must  draw  our  life  every  day  afresh  from 
the  soil,  and  our  daily  necessities  can  be  supplied 
from  no  other  source.  All  trade,  all  commerce,  all 
business  is  but  the  result,  direct  or  remote,  of  the 
industrial  pursuit  in  which  you  are  engaged.  Our 


PUBLIC    QUESTION'S  303 

city,  in  its  earlier  and  later  progress,  is  peculiarly  the 
offspring  of  agriculture.  From  it  has  been  drawn 
our  chief  income ;  it  has  been  the  source  of  our  reve- 
nue. We  have  been  doing  little  else  for  thirty  years 
but  meeting  the  demands  and  supplying  the  wants 
of  the  farmers. 

"  Tell  me  how  the  land  is  held,  and  I  can  tell  you 
almost  to  a  certainty  the  political  system  of  the 
country,  its  form  of  government,  and  its  political 
character.  When  land  is  divided  into  small  farms, 
the  property,  as  a  rule,  of  those  who  till  them,  there 
is  an  inducement,  ambition,  and  facility  for  inde- 
pendence, for  progress,  for  wider  thought  and  higher 
attainments  in  individual,  industrial  life.  Over  such 
a  population  no  government  but  a  free  one,  under 
equal  laws  and  equal  rights,  with  equal  opportuni- 
ties, can  exist  for  any  length  of  time.  The  small 
farm,  thoroughly  worked,  was  the  ancient  model, 
commended  by  the  early  sages  and  philosophers ;  as 
old  Vergil  put  it,  *  Praise  a  large  farm,  cultivate  a 
small  one.'  We  must  avoid  in  this  country  the  hold- 
ing of  large  tracts  of  land  by  non-resident  owners 
for  speculative  purposes,  and  set  our  faces  like  flint 
against  alien  land-holding  in  small  or  large  tracts. 
Our  public  domain  must  be  re-dedicated  to  our  own 
people,  and  neither  foreign  syndicates  nor  domestic 
corporations  must  be  permitted  to  divert  it  from  the 
hallowed  purpose  of  actual  settlement  by  real  farm- 
ers. 

"One  of  the  great  lessons  of  history  is  that  agri- 


3®4  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

culture  cannot  rise  to  Its  highest  perfection  and  reach 
its  fullest  development  without  the  aid  of  commerce, 
manufactures,  and  mechanical  arts.  All  are  essential 
to  the  healthy  growth  and  highest  advancement  of 
the  others ;  the  progress  of  one  insures  the  prosperity 
of  another.  There  are  no  conflicts,  there  should  be 
no  antagonisms.  They  are  indispensable  to  each 
other.  AVhatever  enfeebles  one  is  certain  to  cripple 
the  rest. 

"Let  us  accept  the  advice  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Republic,  heed  their  patriotic  counsels,  walk  stead- 
fastly in  their  faith,  preserve  the  mutual  helpfulness 
and  harmonies  of  the  industries,  and  maintain  our 
independence,  national,  industrial,  and  individual, 
against  all  the  world,  and  thus  advance  to  the  high 
destiny  that  devolves  upon  us  and  our  posterity.  I 
bespeak  for  you  a  pleasant  'and  profitable  meeting, 
and,  with  .thanks  and  best  wishes  to  all,  bid  you 
good-night." 

To  the  laboring  interests  and  to  employers  as  well 
it  is  important  to  know  what  Major  McKinley's 
views  are  on  arbitration.  They  are  shown  in  the 
closing  paragraph  of  his  speech  on  that  subject  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  April  2d,  1886: 

"  I  believe,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  arbitration,  as  in 
principle ;  I  believe  it  should  prevail  in  the  settle- 
ment of  international  differences.  It  represents  a 
higher  civilization  than  the  arbitrament  of  war.  I 
believe  it  is  in  close  accord  with  the  best  thought 
and  sentiment  of  mankind ;  I  believe  it  is  the  true 


PUBLIC    QUESTIONS  305 

way  of  settling  differences  between  labor  and  capital ; 
I  believe  it  will  bring  both  to  a  better  understanding, 
uniting  them  closer  in  interest,  and  promoting  better 
relations,  avoiding  force,  avoiding  unjust  exactions 
and  oppression,  avoiding  the  loss  of  earnings  to 
labor,  avoiding  disturbances  to  trade  and  transporta- 
tion ;  and  if  this  House  can  contribute  in  the  small- 
est measure,  by  legislative  expression  or  otherwise, 
to  these  ends,  it  will  deserve  and  receive  the  grati- 
tude of  all  men  who  love  peace,  good  order,  justice, 
and  fair  play." 

The  Republican  Presidential  candidate  delivered 
a  speech  on  "  Prospect  and  Retrospect,"  on  Septem- 
ber 14th,  1887,  before  the  Mahoning  Valley  Pioneer 
Association,  of  which  this  is  a  striking  paragraph : 

"  We  can  hardly  conceive  that  the  next  generation 
will  be  so  rich  in  fruitage,  so  prolific  in  invention,  so 
marvelous  in  achievement,  so  wonderful  in  its  work  j 
but  who  can  tell  ?  There  seem  to  be  a  brain  and  a 
conscience  and  a  manhood  always  ready  to  rise  up 
and  discover,  at  the  appropriate  moment,  the  forces 
and  elements  necessary  in  the  onward  march  of  man- 
kind. The  things  you  and  I  have  seen,  great  as  they 
are,  may  be  insignificant  contrasted  with  the  things 
unseen  and  yet  to  be  developed.  The  ax  and  the 
rifle,  the  courage  and  the  conscience,  the  brain  and 
the  brawn,  the  faith  in  God  of  the  pioneer,  lay  the 
foundations  of  the  splendid  institutions  which  make 
possible  our  matchless  achievements.  The  New  Eng- 
land school-house,  which  came  simultaneous  with  his 


306  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

cabin  and  stockade,  was  our  flaming  torch,  which, 
carried  grandly  through  the  century,  has  filled  the 
whole  world  with  its  light." 

The  Home  Market  Club,  of  Boston,  invited  Major 
McKinley  to  address  them  on  February  9th,  1888. 
At  that  time  he  spoke  regarding  free  raw  materials. 
The  following  selection  from  that  speech,  in  view  of 
the  events  since  it  was  made,  is  most  striking : 

"A  revenue  reformer  who  had  recently  visited 
your  State,  said  to  me  a  few  days  ago,  that  Massa- 
chusetts had  already  received  all  the  benefits  she 
could  from  protection,  and  that  now  her  interests  as 
well  as  her  inclinations  lay  in  the  other  direction — 
that  of  free  trade.  Enlarging  upon  it  he  was  forced 
to  confess  that  the  manufacturing  thrift  and  activity 
everywhere  seen  in  your  commonwealth,  the  high 
rank  you  had  taken,  and  the  perfection  reached  in 
production,  were  the  outcome  of  the  system  of  Ameri- 
can protection ;  but  now  free  trade,  or  its  equivalent 
or  approximation,  would  place  you  in  a  position  of 
commanding  advantage  over  those  portions  of  the 
country  marked  with  less  industrial  development. 
If  I  were  to  admit  the  truth  of  my  friend's  discourse 
— which  I  do  not — the  situation  would,  in  simple 
language,  be  this :  Massachusetts  owes  her  proud 
industrial  position  to  a  Protective  Tariff,  which  she 
has  enjoyed  by  the  help  of  other  States  not  so  far 
advanced  in  manufactures,  and  which  have  neither 
so  long  nor  so  advantageously  enjoyed  its  benefits. 
Now  she  does  not  need  it  for  herself^  and  is  unwil.l- 


PUBLIC    QUESTIONS  307 

ing  that  any  of  her  sister  States  shall  profit  by  its 
assistance  and  enjoy  its  blessings.  She  used  it  to 
attain  her  high  commercial  position  and  manufactur- 
ing development.  The  newer  States  are  now  moving 
upward  on  the  ladder  which  carried  her  before  and 
above  them.  Now,  as  my  friend  would  have  it,  she 
is  ready  to  push  the  ladder  down  with  all  that  is 
upon  it.  [Laughter.]  This  I  know  to  be  a  base  and 
ungenerous  reflection  upon  Massachusetts,  which 
her  industrial  people  will  be  quick  to  resent,  and 
which  nothing  in  her  behavior  in  the  past  would 
justify." 

On  this  same  occasion  Major  McKinley  delivered 
these  additional  gems  of  thought: 

"  But  if  free  wool  will  secure  cheaper  clothing  to 
the  people,  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning,  cloth, 
duty  free,  and  untaxed  ready-made  clothing  will 
diminish  the  price  still  further,  and  give  to  the  con- 
sumer the  very  consummation  of  low  prices  and 
cheap  wearing  apparel.  If  every  consideration  but 
the  mere  cheapness  of  the  fabric  be  discarded,  then 
no  reason  can  be  found  why,  with  free  wool,  there 
should  not  come  free  cloth  and  free  clothing.  [Ap- 
plause.] Things,  however,  are  sometimes  the  dear- 
est, when  nominally  they  are  the  cheapest.  The 
selling  price  of  an  article  is  not  the  only  measure ; 
the  ability  to  buy,  the  coin  with  which  to  purchase, 
is  an  important  and  essential  element,  and  must  not 
be  dismissed  from  our  consideration.  If  a  man  is 
without  meaijs  ant1  withou*  employment,  and  there 


308  PUBLIC    QUESTION'S 

is  none  of  the  latter  to  be  had,  everything  is  dear  to 
him.  The  price  is  of  the  smallest  consequence, 
however  cheap,  if  it  is  beyond  his  reach.  If  my 
only  means  is  my  labor,  and  that  is  unemployed, 
whether  things  are  cheap  or  dear  is  of  little  moment 
to  me. 

"The  manufacturers  of  New  England,  and  more 
particularly  the  skilled  labor  employed  by  them, 
need  a  Protective  Tariff,  and  require  it  equally 
with  the  industries  and  labor  of  other  States.  It  is 
imperatively  demanded,  not  only  here,  but  in  every 
section  of  the  Union,  if  the  present  price  of  labor 
is  to  be  continued  and  maintained.  Your  industries 
cannot  compete  successfully,  even  in  this  market,  with 
the  industries  of  England,  France,  Belgium  and  Ger- 
many, without  a  tariff,  so  long  as  the  price  paid  labor 
here  exceeds  the  price  paid  labor  there  from  50  to  75 
per  cent.  This  inequality  can  only  be  met  by  a  tariff 
upon  the  products  of  cheap  labor,  high  enough  to 
compensate  for  the  difference.  You  cannot  compete 
except  upon  equal  conditions  and  with  like  cost  of 
the  competing  product.  Free  trade  will  either 
equalize  the  conditions  by  reducing  your  labor 
to  that  of  the  rival  laborer  on  the  other  side, 
or  it  will  close  your  factories  and  workshops  and 
destroy  home  production  and  competition. 

"  Free  trade  means  cheap  labor,  and  cheap  labor 
means  diminished  comforts — diminished  capacity  to 
buy,  poor  and  enfeebled  industries  and  a  depend- 
ent condition  generally.  And  every  step  taken  in 


%  ANDREW  CARNEGIE 


HON    UAZEM  8.  PINGBEJk 


PUBLIC   QUESTIONS  311 

the  direction  of  free  trade,  beginning  with  free  raw 
material,  is  an  advance,  and  a  very  long  one  and 
a  very  straight  one,  in  the  direction  of  reduced  wages 
and  a  changed  condition  of  the 'American  working- 
man,  not  confined  to  the  labor  engaged  in  preparing 
raw  materials  for  use,  but  will  widen,  and  in  the  end 
enter  every  department  of  labor  and  skill. 

"I  would  secure  the  American  market  to  the 
American  producer  [applause],  and  I  would  not 
hesitate  to  raise  the  duties  whenever  necessary  to 
secure  this  patriotic  end.  [Applause.]  I  would  not 
have  an  idle  man  or  an  idle  mill  or  an  idle  spindle 
in  this  country  if,  by  holding  exclusively  the  Ameri- 
can market,  we  could  keep  them  employed  and  run- 
ning. [Applause.]  Every  yard  of  cloth  imported 
here  makes  a  demand  for  one  yard  less  of  American 
fabrication. 

"Let  England  take  care  of  herself;  let  France 
look  after  her  interests ;  let  Germany  take  care  of 
her  own  people,  but  in  God's  name  let  Americans 
look  after  America !  [Loud  applause.]  Every  ton 
of  steel  imported  diminishes  that  much  of  home  pro- 
duction. Every  blow  struck  on  the  other  side  upon 
an  article  which  comes  here  in  competition  with;; 
like  articles  produced  here,  makes  the  demand  for 
one  blow  less  at  home.  Every  day's  labor  upon  the 
foreign  products  sent  to  the  United  States  takes  one 
day's  labor  from  American  work  ing  men.  I  would 
give  the  day's  labor  to  our  own,  first,  last,  and  all  the 
time,  and  that  policy  which  fails  in  this  is  opposed 


312  PUBLIC    QUESTIONS 

to  American  interests.  To  secure  this  is  the  great 
purpose  of  a  Protective  Tariff.  Free-traders  say, 
give  it  to  the  foreign  workman,  if  ours  will  not  per- 
form it  at  the  same  price  and  accept  the  same  wages. 
Protectionists  say  no,  the  workingmen  say  no,  and 
justly  and  indignantly  resent  this  attempted  degra- 
dation of  their  labor,  this  blow  at  their  independence 
and  manhood. 

"The  party  that  tries  to  lead  us  back  will  be 
buried  beneath  popular  indignation.  [Applause.] 
From  whom  does  this  complaint  come  ?  It  comes 
from  the  scholars,  so-called  [laughter],  and  the  poets, 
from  whom  we  gladly  take  our  poetry,  but  whose 
political  economy  we  must  decline  to  receive ;  from 
the  dilettanti  and  would-be  diplomatists,  the  men  of 
fixed  incomes ;  it  comes  from  the  men  who  '  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin '  [great  applause],  and  from 
those  who  '  do  not  gather  into  barns '  [laughter], 
who  have  no  investments  except  in .  bonds  and  mort- 
gages, who  want  every  thing  cheap  but  money,  every- 
thing easy  to  secure  but  coin,  who  prefer  the  customs 
and  civilization  of  other  countries  to  our  own,  and 
who  find  nothing  so  wholesome  as  that  which  is  im- 
ported, whether  manners  or  merchandise,  and  want 
no  obstructions  in  the  shape  of  a  tariff  placed  upon 
the  free  use  of  both.  [Applause  and  laughter.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LIBERTY    AND    LABOR. 

"The  hope  of  the  Republic  is  in  a  citizenship  that  is  faithful  to  home 
and  family  and  devotedly  loyal  to  country." 

"  Mr.  President,  Members  of  the  Illinois  State  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  of  the  Trade  and  Labor  Assembly  of 
Chicago,  and  My  Fellow- Citizens :  I  am  glad  to  join 
with  you  in  observing  this,  our  one  hundred  and 
nineteenth  National  anniversary,  that  we  may  gather 
fresh  inspirations  in  the  cause  of  human  freedom 
and  equality  and  dedicate  ourselves  anew,  in  com- 
mon with  our  fellow-citizens  everywhere,  to  the  good 
work  of  maintaining  the  free  Government  which  our 
fathers  inaugurated  more  than  a  century  ago.  No 
city  in  America  has  a  better  right  or  a  better  reason 
to  rejoice  at  its  majesty  and  strength  than  Chicago, 
and  no  citizens  of  any  city  in  any  State  should  cele- 
brate it  with  more  zeal  and  joy  than  her  working 
people,  who  have  done  so  much  to  make  Chicago  the 
great  inland  metropolis  of  our  country,  whose  mar- 
velous progress  is  the  admiration  and  wonder  of  the 
world. 

"  We  are  a  Nation  of  working  people ;  some  one 

313 


314  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

has  said  that  Americans  are  born  busy,  and  that 
they  never  find  time  to  be  idle  or  indolent.  We 
glory  in  the  fact  that  in  the  dignity  and  elevation  of 
labor  we  find  our  greatest  distinction  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  The  United  States  possesses 
practically  as  much  energy  or  working  power  as 
Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  France  combined,  so 
that  the  ratio  of  working  power  falling  to  each 
American  is  more  than  that  of  to  two  people  of  any 
other  nation.  But  with  our  improved  and  superior 
machinery  each  American  laborer  is  enabled  to 
accomplish,  relatively,  still  more  than  his  European 
competitor.  The  American  laborer  not  only  does 
more  and  better  work,  but  there  are  more  skilled, 
intelligent,  and  capable  artisans  here  now  in  propor- 
tion to  the  total  population  than  in  any  other  coun- 
try of  the  world.  No  other  country  can  boast  of  so 
great  a  percentage  of  producers  among  her  instructed 
population,  and  none  other  can  point  to  so  large  a 
number  of  enlightened  and  educated  citizens.  The 
census  statistics  of  1890  place  the  number  of  our 
citizens  over  ten'  years  of  age  engaged  in  gainful 
occupations  at  22,735,000,  while  Sir  Michael  G.  Mul- 
hall,  the  noted  English  statistician,  refers  to  the  fact 
that  no  other  civilized  country  could  ever  before 
boast  of  41,000,000  instructed  citizens.  Indeed,  we 
may  find  in  the  able  review  of  the  industrial  activi- 
ties of  our  country  ^recently  published  by  this  distin- 
guished authority  many  striking  texts  for  patriotic 
contemplation.  He  states  very  frankly : 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  315 

" '  If  we  were  to  take  a  survey  of  mankind  in 
ancient  or  modern  times  as  regards  the  physical, 
mechanical,  and  intellectual  force  of  nations,  we  find 
nothing  to  compare  with  the  United  States  in  this 
present  year  of  1895.  The  physical  and  mechanical 
power  which  has  enabled  a  community  of  wood- 
cutters and  farmers  to  become  in  less  than  one  hun- 
dred years  the  greatest  Nation  in  the  world  is  the 
aggregate  of  the  strong  arms  of  men  and  women, 
aided  by  horse-power,  machinery,  and  steam-power 
applied  to  the  useful  arts  and  sciences  of  every-day 
life.  The  power  that  traces  a  furrow  in  the  prairie, 
sows  the  seed,  reaps  and  threshes  the  ripe  grain  ;  the 
power  that  converts  wheat  into  flour,  that  weaves 
wool  or  cotton  into  textile  stuffs  and  garments ;  the 
power  that  lifts  the  mineral  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  that  forges  iron  and  constructs  railroads ;  the 
power  that  builds  up  towns  and  cities — in  a  word, 
whatever  force  is  directed  for  the  production,  con- 
veyance, or  distribution  of  the  necessaries,  comforts, 
or  luxuries  of  life,  may  be  measured  at  each 
National  census  with  almost  the  same  precision  as 
that  with  which  the  astronomer  indicates  the  dis- 
tances of  the  heavenly  bodies.' 

"  We  shall  not  enter  upon  such  a  computation  or 
study,  interesting  as  it  might  bo,  but  you  are  to  be 
congratulated  upon  the  fact  that  in  every  field  of 
progress  and  development  Chicago  has  always  been 
to  the  front  and  borne  a  most  conspicuous  part. 
Upon  this  proud  record  I  feel  that  you  are  to  be  es- 


316  LIBEETY  AND  LABOR 

pecially  congratulated,  for  I  am  sure  that  to  no  class 
of  her  citizens  is  this  great  city  so  much  indebted  for 
her  marvelous  growth  as  to  her  wage-earners,  arti- 
sans, and  working  people.  It  can  truthfully  be  said 
that  no  other  city  in  the  country  has  been  so  shin- 
ing a  light,  so  truly  an  example  and  model  in  enter- 
prise and  energy  for  so  many  people  in  so  many 
States  as  Chicago.  Her  people  have  set  the  pace  for 
the  great  Northwest,  now  chasing  other  parts  of  the 
country  in  the  race  of  progress  and  supremacy.  It 
is  fitting  that  they  should  rejoice,  and  above  all  most 
appropriate  that  they  should  select  this  glad  anni- 
versary as  the  occasion  for  such  jubilations. 

"  This  day,  forever  the  most  illustrious  in  our 
history,  is  crowded  with  patriotic  memories.  It 
belongs  to  history,  and  celebrates  that  only  which  is 
grand  and  inspiring  in  history.  Every  memory, 
every  tradition,  every  event  about  it  must  inspire 
every  patriot  with  true  homage  to  country  and  with 
hope,  courage,  and  confidence  for  the  future.  It  is 
the  baptismal  day  of  freedom ;  the  day  when  the 
hearts  of  Young  America  are  proud  and  glad  and 
the  hearts  of  the  old  are  young  again.  It  celebrates 
the  grandest  act  in  the  history  of  the  human  race — the 
Declaration  of  American  Independence,  and  a  ring- 
ing protest  against  usurpation  and  tyranny  in  that 
age  and  every  other.  It  has  no  rival ;  Lincoln's  im- 
mortal Proclamation  of  Emancipation  was  but  its 
fitting  supplement  and  actual  fulfillment.  Yorktown 
pointed  the  way,  but  it  was  Appomattox  that  marked 


'LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  317 

the  completed,  unquestioned,  glorious  realization  of 
both. 

"  The  Fourth  of  July  calls  us  back  to  the  most 
heroic  era  of  American'  annals,  and  I  can  conceive 
of  nothing  more  profitable  than  a  consideration  of 
the  origin  and  meaning  of  our  National  anniversary 
and  a  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  patriotic  leaders  who 
made  its  celebration  possible.  The  day  records  the 
event  which  gave  birth  to  the  Nation,  that  glad  event 
to  humanity  out  of  which  has  arisen  the  great  Na- 
tional fabric  that  we  now  enjoy,  and  the  preservation 
and  advancement  of  which  should  be  our  highest  and 
most  sacred  concern.  We  cannot  study  the  early 
history  of  the  country  without  marveling  at  the 
courage,  the"  foresight,  the  sagacity,  and  the  broad- 
mindedness  of  the  men  who  promulgated  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  and  who  subsequently 
launched  a  new  government  under  a  written  Consti- 
tution. The  men  who  framed  the  Declaration  and 
Constitution  seem  now  to  have  been  inspired  for 
their  great  work,  to  have  been  raised  up  by  Jehovah, 
like  His  prophets  of  old,  especially  for  the  supreme 
duties  and  grave  responsibilities  He  placed  upon 
them. 

"  Both  instruments  were  in  part  the  work  of  the 
same  men,  and  never  was  the  spirit  and  impulse  of  a 
preliminary  document  more  apparent  in  the  com- 
pleted act.  What  illustrious  men  constituted  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1776 — and  most  of  them 
were  young  men,  whose  subsequent  careers  were  as 


318  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

distinguished  and  useful  as  their  first  great  work  in- 
dicated they  would  become  !  Every  American  can 
proudly  call  that  roll  of  honor  without  reservation, 
apology,  or  omission.  From  Virginia  came  Jeffer- 
son, its  author;  Harrison,  Nelson,  Wythe,  the  Lees, 
and  Braxton,  all  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  State, 
and  all  freely  risking  life  and  fortune  for  their  be- 
loved country.  From  Massachusetts  came  John 
Hancock,  '  the  outlawed  but  uncompromising  Presi- 
dent ;'  John  Adams,  '  the  Colossus  of  Independence/ 
&nd  his  equally  patriotic  kinsman,  Samuel  Adams, 
'the  Father  of  the  Revolution/  Near  them  sat 
Benjamin  Franklin,  the  resourceful  and  wise  philos- 
opher, the  eloquent  Edward  Rutledge,  of  South 
Carolina,  and  those  tireless  and  talented  advocates 
of  freedom  and  union,  Thomas  McKean  and  Csesar 
Rodney,  of  Delaware.  In  another  group,  perhaps, 
were  the  four  brave  men  who  in  later  years  sat  with 
Washington  to  frame  and  sign  the  Constitution — 
Roger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut;  George  Read,  of 
Delaware,  and  George  Clymer  and  James  Wilson, 
of  Pennsylvania.  Near  them  were  those  sweet- 
spirited  and  able  counselors  and  orators,  Arthur  Mid- 
dleton,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
of  Virginia.  Then  there  were  John  Witherspoon,  of 
Princeton  College,  a  disciple  of  Christ  and  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  of  civil  liberty ;  John  Penn,  the  sturdy 
patriot  of  North  Carolina ;  Lyman  Hall,  of  Georgia ; 
Chase,  Paca,  and  Stone,  of  Maryland ;  Bartlett  and 
Whipple,  of  New  Hampshire ;  Floyd  and  Living- 


LIBERTY  AtfD  LABOR  319 

i 

ston,  of  New  York ;  Hopkins  and  Ellery,  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  the  young  and  ardent  Charles  Carroll, 
of  Carrollton. 

"  Nor  must  we  omit  to  mention  two  of  this  dis- 
tinguished body  of  patriots — Dickinson,  the  eloquent 
1  Pennsylvania  Farmer,'  and  his  colleague,  Robert 
Morris,  '  the  Financier  of  the  Revolution/  whose 
energy,  self-sacrifice,  and  devotion  were  as  unbounded 
as  his  integrity  and  probity  were  unimpeachable.  It 
is  related  that  after  he  had  already  involved  himself 
to  the  extent  of  $1 ,500,000  in  behalf  of  the  Govern- 
ment, he  said  to  a  Quaker  friend  :  *  I  want  money 
for  the  use  of  the  army.' 

"  '  What  security  can  thee  give  ?' 

" '  My  word  and  my  honor,'  replied  Morris. 

" '  Robert,  thou  shalt  have  it,'  was  the  prompt 
reply. 

"  Equally  as  useful  and  perhaps  as  influential  as 
most  of  the  members  was  the  efficient  Secretary  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  Charles  Thompson,  who  for 
fifteen  years  was  the  faithful  recorder  of  all  its  pro- 
ceedings, and  who  both  witnessed  and  directed  the 
signing  of  the  Declaration.  To  him  we  are  indebted, 
perhaps,  more  than  to  any  other,  for  the  enrollment 
and  preservation  of  the  historic  parchment  itself. 

"  These  were  the  men  and  men  like  them,  who 
founded  our  Government,  It  has  always  seemed  to 
me  most  fortunate  that  they  were  a  truly  represen- 
tative body,  not  only  as  to  the  States  and  sections  of 
the  country,  but  in  the  character  of  their  callings 


320  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

and  pursuits  in  life.  The  country  was  new  and  but 
little  developed,  yet  these  men  were  familiar  with 
and  represented  in  themselves  every  condition  of 
American  life  and  society.  Many  of  them  were  men 
of  great  experience  in  public  affairs,  '  the  architects 
of  their  own  fortunes/  who  generally  had  risen 
despite  great  odds,  and  were  in  no  sense  adventurers 
or  hot-headed  revolutionists. 

"  They  built,  not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for  pos- 
terity. Their  plans  stretched  far  out  into  the  future, 
compassing  the  ages  and  embracing  mankind.  "Not 
alone  for  the  present  were  their  sacrifices  and 
struggles,  but  for  all  time  thereafter.  Not  for 
American  colonists  only,  but  for  the  whole  human 
race,  wherever  men  and  women  are  struggling  for 
higher,  freer,  and  better  conditions.  It  was  as  the 
yearning  of  the  soul  for  emancipation.  It  was  the 
cry  of  humanity  for  freedom — freedom  to  think, 
speak,  and  act  within  the  limitations  of  just  and 
proper  laws,  which  should  be  of  their  own  making. 
If  it  should  prove  ineffectual,  all  was  lost,  and  tyr- 
anny and  oppression  would  be  perpetual.  It  was 
the  mighty  struggle  of  the  ages  for  the  freedom  of 
man,  for  the  equal  opportunity  of  all  mankind.  It 
involved  those  '  inalienable  rights,  life,  liberty,  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness ;'  and  it  was  no  fault  of 
its  author  that  the  shackles  of  slavery  were  left  upon 
any  human  being  in  the  Republic.  What  it  fell 
short  of  he  fully  comprehended,  and  he  wrote  as  he 
designed,  intending  that  the  Declaration  should  be 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  321 

forever  the  protest  of  a  Nation  against  every  form 
of  tyranny,  oppression,  and  bondage  known  to  men. 

"  Liberty  and  conscience  triumphed,  and  because  of 
that  triumph  we  have  enjoyed  for  now  more  than  a 
century  the  freest  and  best  government  in  the  world. 
The  liberty  which  was  secured  by  so  great  a  sacrifice 
was  not  the  liberty  of  lawlessness,  not  the  liberty  of 
licentiousness,  but  liberty  for  law,  and  law  always  for 
liberty,  and  both  for  all  the  people.  It  was  not 
liberty  for  a  class  merely,  but  liberty  and  political 
equality  for  all  the  people ;  notTa  struggle  for  landed 
proprietors,  for  men  of  wealth  and  gentle  birth,  but 
liberty  for  the  masses,  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich, 
the  low  as  well  as  the  high.  It  was  not  a  victory 
easily  won — indeed,  the  wonder  is  that  it  was  won  at 
all.  It  was  a  contest  waged  by  weak  and  struggling 
colonies,  beset  by  enemies  at  home,  as  well  as  opposed 
by  the  most  powerful  government  in  the  world,  *  the 
proud  mistress  of  the  seas/  their  old  Mother 
Country,  strongly  intrenched  in  power,  and  with  the 
wealth  of  centuries  at  command. 

"It  took  seven  years  of  war  to  make  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  respected  as  more  than  the  idle 
words  of  a  few  restless  leaders.  Yet  that  great 
proclamation  of  freedom  fell  short  of  what  Jefferson 
intended  that  it  should  contain.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence and  some  of  those  associated  with  him  deeply 
deplored  the  slave  trade  which  was  then  actively  en- 
gaged in  by  several  of  the  Colonies.  It  is  a  fact 
20 


322  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

worth  cherishing  that  iii  the  original  draft  by  Jeffer- 
son he  charged  the  king  with  willful  participation  in 
the  slave  trade.  Here  is  the  passage  which  was 
omitted,  and  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  striking 
of  the  wonderful  document : 

" '  He  [King  George]  has  waged  cruel  war  against 
human  nature  itself,  violating  its  most  sacred  rights 
of  life  and  liberty  in  the  persons  of  a  distant  people 
who  never  offended  him,  captivating  and  carrying 
them  into  slavery  in  another  hemisphere,  or  to  incur 
miserable  death  in  their  transportation  thither. 
This  piratical  warfare,  the  opprobrium  of  infidel 
powers,  is  the  warfare  of  the  Christian  king  of 
Great  Britain.  Determined  to  keep  open  the 
market  where  men  should  be  bought  and  sold,  he 
has  prostituted  his  negative  for  suppressing  every 
legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain  this 
execrable  commerce.  And  that  this  assemblage  of 
horrors  might  want  no  fact  of  distinguished  die,  he 
is  now  exciting  those  very  people  to  rise  in  arms 
among  us  and  purchase  that  liberty  of  which  he  has 
deprived  them  by  murdering  the  people  on  which  he 
also  obtruded  them ;  thus  paying  off  former  crimes 
committed  against  the  liberties  of  one  people  with 
crimes  which  he  urges  them  to  commit  against  the 
lives  of  another.' 

"  This,  alas,  was  left  out  of  the  otherwise  perfect 
Declaration  of  Independence.  What  a  world  of 
trouble  and  sorrow  it  would  have  saved  to  posterity 
had  it  remained  I  What  a  blot  it  would  have  spared 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  323 

the  fair  fame  of  this  Republic,  and  what  thousands 
of  precious  lives  would  have  been  saved  if  that  great 
truth  had  become  a  part  of  the  Charter  of  our  Lib- 
erties, and  its  spirit  have  been  ingrafted  upon  the 
Constitution  in  1787 !  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
Declaration  could  have  been  adopted  if  it  had  not 
been  eliminated.  Some  of  the  Colonies  would 
doubtless  have  withheld  their  assent,  because  some 
of  them,  or  some  of  the  people  dwelling  therein,  were 
engaged  themselves  in  the  unholy  traffic.  It  was  the 
best  and  all  that  could  be  done  at  the  time ;  more 
was  not  required  then,  and  need  not  be  deeply  de- 
plored now.  Jefferson  reluctantly  yielded  the  point, 
but  the  passage  remains  as  a  permanent  record  not 
only  to  his  broad  philanthropy  and  exalted  patriot- 
ism, but  to  his  marvelous  sagacity  and  foresight  as 
one  of  the  ablest  and  noblest  of  American  statesmen. 
We  can  but  reflect  that  what  was  in  the  hearts  of 
Jefferson  and  many  of  his  associates  more  than  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  years  ago  continued  to  stir  the 
hearts  of  mankind,  and  that  men  could  not  slumber 
until  slavery  was  totally  extinguished.  It  took 
nearly  a  hundred  years  of  national  agitation  and 
finally  a  war  which  cost  the  country  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  brave  men  and  millions  of  the  public 
treasury  to  put  into  the  Constitution  of  the  country 
what  Jefferson  wanted  to  put  from  the  first  into  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  It  is  interesting  to  note  what  seemed  the  almost 
insuperable   obstacles   to    the    final   victory   which 


324  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

inaugurated  free  government  on  this  continent.  In 
the  limitations  of  an  address  like  this  it  is  impossible 
to  give  them  even  a  casual  review.  There  was  one 
great  menace,  however,  that  seems  to  have  received 
little  attention  at  the  time  which  impresses  me  deeply, 
and  may  possess  some  interest  to  you,  since  it  bringa 
into  prominence  the  noble  character  of  Washington 
and  his  agency  in  securing  the  blessings  we  no\v 
enjoy.  It  was  after  hostilities  had  ceased,  although 
no  public  proclamation  of  peace  had  yet  been  made 
Washington  had  been  urged  to  accept  a  kingship,, 
but  had  sternly  rebuked  every  suggestion  of  dictator- 
ship on  his  part.  The  army  was  at  Newburgh  with- 
out pay,  almost  without  food,  and  suffering  in  rags. 
Washington  best  describes  its  condition  in  a  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  from  which  I  read : 

" '  Under  present  circumstances,  when  I  see  a 
number  of  men  goaded  by  a  thousand  stings  of  re- 
flection on  the  past  and  anticipations  of  the  future, 
about  to  be  turned  on  the  world,  forced  by  penury 
and  by  what  they  call  the  ingratitude  of  the  public, 
involved  in  debt,  without  one  farthing  to  carry  them 
home,  after  spending  the  flower  of  their  days  and 
many  of  their  patrimonies  in  establishing  the  free- 
dom of  their  country  and  suffering  everything  this 
side  of  death — I  repeat  that  when  I  consider  these 
irritating  circumstances,  without  one  thing  to  soothe 
their  feelings  or  dispel  their  prospects,  I  cannot 
avoid  apprehending  that  a  train  of  evils  will  follow 
of  a  very  serious  and  distressing  nature.  You  may 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  325 

rely  upon  it,  the  patriotism  and  long  suffering  of  this 
Army  is  well-nigh  exhausted,  and  there  never  was 
so  great  a  spirit  of  discontent  as  at  present/ 

"  He  stood  between  the  Army  and  Congress,  sym- 
pathizing deeply  with  his  brave  comrades  in  their 
deplorable  condition,  and  yet  in  their  presence,  and 
in  all  his  relations  with  them,  upholding  Congress 
and  finding  good  excuses  for  its  failure  to  provide 
for  the  Continental  Army.  The  greatest  discontent 
was  prevalent,  and  a  manifesto  was  issued  and  cir- 
culated among  the  officers  and  men  which  was  well 
calculated  to  move  them  to  acts  of  disorder  and  vio- 
lence. This  was  its  strong  language : 

"  *  Faith  has  its  limits  as  well  as  its  temper,  and 
there  are  points  beyond  which  neither  can  be 
stretched  without  sinking  into  cowardice  or  plunging 
into  credulity.  If  this  be  your  treatment  while  the 
swords  you  wear  are  necessary  to  the  protection  of 
your  country,  what  have  you  to  expect  from  peace, 
when  your  voice  shall  sink  and  your  strength  dissi- 
pate by  division,  when  those  very  swords,  the  instru- 
ments and  companions  of  your  glory,  shall  be  taken 
from  your  sides  and  no  remaining  mark  of  your 
military  distinction  is  left  but  your  infirmities  and 
scars?  Can  you  consent  to  retire  from  the  field  and 
grow  old  in  poverty,  wretchedness,  and  contempt? 
Can  you  consent  to  wade  through  the  vile  mire  of 
despondency  and  owe  the  remnant  of  that  life  to 
charity  which  has  hitherto  been  spent  in  honor? 
If  you  can,  go,  and  carry  with  you  the  jest  of  Tories, 


326  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

the  scorn  of  Whigs,  and,  what  is  worse,  the  pity  of 
the  world.  Go,  starve,  and  be  forgotten/ 

" '  Suspect  the  man/  it  continued,  referring  directly 
to  Washington,  '  who  would  advise  to  more  modera- 
tion and  longer  forbearance.  Tell  Congress  that 
with  it  rests  the  responsibility  of  the  future ;  that  if 
peace  returns  nothing  but  death  shall  separate  you 
from  your  arms,  and  that  if  the  war  continues  you 
will  retire  to  some  unsettled  country  to  smile  in  turn 
and  mock  when  their  fear  cometh.' 

"  This  was  the  situation  that  confronted  Washing- 
ton. These  words  of  discontent  and  mutinous  im- 
port were  easily  caught  up  by  many  of  the  brave 
but  suffering  men,  the  heroic  men  whom  he  had 
borne  on  his  great  heart  for  seven  long  years.  He 
declared  this  to  be  the  darkest  day  of  his  life ;  no 
defeat  in  all  the  years  of  the  Revolution  had  borne 
so  terrible  an  aspect.  He  beheld  the  half-naked, 
starving  Army  about  to  be  led  into  mutiny,  and  per- 
haps, all  the  horrors  of  a  bloody  and  desperate  civil 
war,  whose  chief  incentives  would  be  rapine  and 
plunder.  What  was  he  to  do  in  this  great  emer- 
gency ? 

"  A  meeting  was  called  without  his  knowledge  or 
consent  to  take  action.  He  appreciated  its  gravity ; 
he  realized  the  meeting  was  fraught  with  the  direct 
consequences  to  the  Army  and  the  country.  It 
might  destroy  all  that  had  been  accomplished  in  the 
long  struggle.  He  quickly  determined  his  course. 
He  issued  a  peremptory  order  postponing  it  for  four 


SENATOR  E.  O.  WOLCOTT. 


HON.  JOHN  WANAMAKEB. 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOR  329 

days,  and  prepared  an  address  that  for  force  of  utter- 
ance, lofty  patriotism,  and  unselfish  devotion  to  the 
cause  for  which  they  had  jointly  fought  has  to  me 
scarcely  an  equal  in  the  literature  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  attended  the  meeting;  it  was  held  on 
March  15th,  1783.  It  was  the  trying  moment  of 
his  life,  as  well  as  a  crucial  test  in  the  fate  of  the 
new  and  unsettled  Government  of  the  Republic. 
He  had  for  those  brave  men,  as  he  looked  upon  them 
assembled  in  the  Temple,  only  love,  gratitude,  and 
sympathy.  He  unrolled  his  manuscript — forgetting 
for  the  moment  his  spectacles,  which  had  become  in- 
dispensable to  him — but,  pausing,  he  took  them  from 
his  pocket,  and  before  adjusting  them  remarked,  in 
words  full  of  emotion : 

"  *  These  eyes,  my  friends,  have  grown  dim  and 
these  locks  white  in  the  service,  yet  I  never  doubted 
the  justice  of  my  country/ 

"  Referring  to  the  manifesto,  he  said : 
" '  My  God,  what  can  this  writer  have  in  view  in 
recommending  such  measures  ?  Can  he  be  a  friend 
of  the  country  and  the  army  ?  No !  He  is  plot- 
ting the  ruin  of  both.  Let  me  conjure  you  in  the 
name  of  our  common  country,  as  you  value  your  own 
sacred  honor,  as  you  respect  the  rights  of  humanity, 
as  you  regard  the  military  or  national  character  of 
America,  to  express  your  utmost  horror  and  detesta- 
tion of  the  man  who  wishes,  under  any  specious 
pretense,  to  overturn  the  liberties  of  our  country, 
and  who  wickedly  attempts  to  open  the  flood-gates 


330  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

of  civil  discord  and  deluge  our  rising  empire  in 
blood/ 

"After  urging  them  to  exhibit  the  same  unselfish 
patriotism,  the  same  devotion  to  duty  that  had  always 
characterized  them,  and  await  with  patience  justice 
from  the  country  they  had  served  so  faithfully,  he 
said: 

"  '  By  thus  determining  and  acting  you  will  pursue 
the  plain  and  direct  road  to  the  attainment  of  your 
wishes ;  you  will  defeat  the  insidious  designs  of  our 
enemies,  who  are  compelled  to  resort  from  open  force 
to  secret  artifice,  and  you  will  give  one  more  distin- 
guishing proof  of  unexampled  patriotism  and  patient 
virtue  rising  superior  to  the  most  complicated  suffer- 
ings, and  you  will,  by  the  dignity  of  your  conduct, 
afford  occasion  for  posterity  to  say,  when  speaking 
of  the  glorious  example  you  have  exhibited  to  man- 
kind :  "  Had  this  day  been  wanting,  the  world  had 
never  seen  the  last  stage  of  perfection  to  which 
human  virtue  is  capable  of  attaining." 

"  Such  an  appeal  from  such  a  man  could  not  be 
unavailing.  The  effect  was  instant;  his  inspired 
words  were  magical.  His  address  finished,  he  walked 
out  of  the  Temple  alone,  leaving  his  words  of  wisdom 
with  them  for  such  unrestrained  consideration  and 
action  as  they  might  see  fit  to  take.  The  officers  at 
once  adopted  resolutions  of  thanks,  reciprocating  the 
affectionate  expressions  of  their  Commander-in- 
Chief  and  indignantly  repudiating  the  wicked  mani- 
festo. Civil  war  was  at  that  moment  averted,  and 


LIBERTY  AXD  LABOR  331 

did  not  again  so  seriously  confront  the  country  for 
nearly  eighty  years. 

"  This,  I  repeat,  is  a  day  of  patriotic  memories, 
and,  perhaps,  another  allusion  to  the  War  for  Inde- 
pendence may  prove  of  some  interest  to  you.  On 
April  18th,  1783,  a  little  more  than  a  month  after 
the  scene  just  described,  Washington  issued  his 
order  announcing  that  hostilities  had  ceased.  Let 
me  read  it  to  you : 

" '  HEADQUARTERS,  NEWBURGH,  April  18th,  1793. 

"'The  Commander-in-Chief  orders  the  cessation 
of  hostilities  between  the  United  States  of  America 
and  the  King  of  Great  Britain  to  be  publicly  read 
to-morrow  at  twelve  o'clock,  at  the  New  Building, 
and  the  proclamation,  which  will  be  communicated 
herewith,  to  be  read  to-morrow  evening  at  the  head 
of  every  regiment  and  corps  of  the  army.  After 
which  the  chaplains  with  the  several  brigades  will 
render  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  His  mercies, 
particularly  for  His  overruling  the  wrath  of  man  to 
His  own  glory,  and  causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease 
among  the  nations.' 

"  We  can  well  pause,  even  at  this  distant  day,  and 
offer  our  thanksgiving  to  that  same  power  for  His 
mercies  to  us,  and  for  the  singular  manner  in  which 
He  has  preserved  this  Government  from  then  until 
now  against  the  *  wrath  of  man  to  His  own  glory  * 
and  our  most  glorious  advancement. 

"  Following  this  order  there  was  a  great  demon- 
stration of  joy  among  the  soldiers,  and  even  the  gal- 


332  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

lant  officers,  who  but  a  few  weeks  before  had  been 
filled  with  such -great  discontent,  now  alike  joined 
in  singing  with  excited  and  jubilant  air  that  grand 
old  anthem,  '  Independence/  then  so  popular,  but 
long  since  forgotten  and  lost : 

.'"The  States,  O  Lord,  with  song  and  praise, 

Shall  in  Thy  strength  rejoice ; 
And,  blest  with  Thy  salvation,  raise 

To  heaven  their  cheerful  voice, 
And  all  the  continent  shall  ring, 
Down  with  this  earthly  king ; 
No  king  but  God.' 

"Interesting  as  these  incidents  may  be  to  all  who 
would,  by  a  correct  understanding  of  the  past,  wisely 
improve  the  future,  we  can  review  them  no  further. 
The  past  is  secure ;  the  present  and  the  future  are 
our  fields  of  opportunity  and  duty.  Those  who  have 
gone  before  did  well  their  part.  Shall  we  be  less 
brave  and  patriotic  in  the  performance  of  our  duty  ? 

"  What  a  mighty  nation  has  been  erected  upon  the 
immortal  principles  of  the  great  Declaration,  the 
signing  of  which  we  celebrate  to-day  I  We  have 
increased  from  thirteen  to  forty-four  States;  from 
3,000,000  to  nearly  70,000,000  people.  We  have 
arisen  from  slavery  to  freedom ;  from  what  some 
men  believed  a  mere  confederacy  of  States,  to  be 
dissolved  at  pleasure,  to  a  mighty,  eternal  Union  of 
indivisible,  indestructible  States;  from  an  agricul- 
tural community  to  the  foremost  Nation  of  the  world 
in  all  the  arts  and  sciences,  in  manufactures,  in  agri- 


LIBERTY  AXD  LABOR  333 

culture,  and  in  mining.  Liberty,  labor,  and  love 
have  accomplished  it  all.  Labor  has  been  dignified 
and  has  vindicated  the  truth  that  the  best  citizen  of 
any  community  is  its  most  useful  citizen.  All  men 
have  equal  rights  guaranteed  by  our  Constitution 
and  laws,  and  that  equality  must  be  forever  pre- 
served and  strengthened  and  everywhere  recognized. 
We  are  all  Americans,  we  are  all  sovereigns,  equal 
in  the  ballot,  and  that  citizen  is  the  best  who  does 
his  best ;  who  follows  the  light  as  God  gives  him  to 
see  the  light;  who  concedes  to  all  the  races  of  man- 
kind what  he  claims  for  himself;  who  rigidly 
respects  the  rights  of  others ;  who  is  ever  willing 
and  ready  to  assist  others ;  who  has  the  best  heart, 
the  best  character,  the  greatest  charity  and  sympa- 
thy, and  who  withholds  from  none  of  his  fellow-men 
the  respect,  privileges,  and  protection  he  claims  for 
himself.  This  is  the  citizenship  that  is  the  need  of 
every  age  and  to  which  we  must  educate  ourselves 
and  those  who  are  to  come  after  us.  This  is  the 
citizenship  that  is  the  hope  of  the  Republic,  its 
security  and  permanency,  which  is  the  hope  of  man- 
kind, our  own  best  hope;  a  citizenship  that  is  faith- 
ful to  home  and  family,  devotedly  loyal  to  country, 
that  encourages  the  truest  and  broadest  national 
spirit,  the  most  thorough  and  genuine  Americanism, 
that  is  ever  moving  onward  and  upward  toward  the 
highest  ideals  of  modern  civilization ;  a  citizenship 
that  respects  law  and  constituted  authority,  that 
loyally  upholds,  guards,  and  supports  the  Govern- 


334  LIBEETY  AND  LABOR 

ment  of  which  it  is  a  part,  in  whose  administration 
it  has  a  voice,  and  that  rests  upon  the  free  choice 
and  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  people.  These 
were  the  characteristics  which  possessed  the  souls  of 
the  men  who  landed  in  the  '  Mayflower,7  who  resisted 
British  oppression,  who  promulgated  the  immortal 
Declaration  of  Independence.  These  are  the 
elements  of  character  which  gave  us  a  Patrick 
Henry,  a  Franklin,  a  Washington,  a  Jefferson,  an 
Adams,  a  Jackson,  a  Grant,  and  which  produced  a 
Lincoln,  whose  name  has  enriched  history,  and 
whose  great  Emancipation  Proclamation  has  blessed 
mankind  and  glorified  God. 

"  It  was  this  character  of  citizenship,  and  the  aim 
to  secure  it,  that  animated  the  men  who  fought  all 
the  battles  of  the  Republic  from  the  Revolution  to 
the  great  Civil  War ;  that  struck  slavery  from  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  that  obliterated 
caste  and  bondage  and  made  freedom  universal  in 
the  Republic.  The  greatest  battle  which  the  Nation 
has  fought  has  been  to  secure  to  labor  the  right  to  do 
with  its  skill,  energy,  and  industry  what  it  chooses, 
through  lawful  pursuits  and  by  peaceable  means, 
ever  obedient  to  law  and  order,  and  respectful  of  the 
rights  of  all ;  that  has  given  labor  the  unquestioned 
right  to  use  what  it  earns  in  its  own  way  in  the 
elevation  of  home  and  family ;  that  has  taught 
labor  to  give  conscience  its  full  sway,  and  that 
has  inspired  labor  to  improve  wisely  every  oppor- 
tunity which  makes  possible  the  realization  of  the 


LIBERTY  AND   LABOR  335 

highest  hopes  and  best  aspirations  of  the  human 
race. 

"  Peace,  order,  and  good  will  among  the  people, 
with  patriotism  in  their  hearts ;  truth,  honor,  and 
justice  in  the  executive,  judicial,  and  legislative 
branches  of  the  Government,  municipal,  State,  and 
National ;  all  yielding  respect  and  obedience  to  law, 
all  equal  before  the  law,  and  all  alike  amenable  to 
law — such  are  the  conditions  that  will  make  our 
Government  too  strong  ever  to  be  broken  by  internal 
dissensions  and  too  powerful  ever  to  be  overturned 
by  any  enemy  from  without.  Then  will  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  people,  under  the  smiles  of  heaven, 
bless,  prosper,  and  exalt  the  people  who  sustain  and 
support  it ! 

"  In  America  no  one  is  born  to  power ;  none 
assured  of  station  or  command  except  by  his  own 
worth  or  usefulness.  But  to  any  post  of  honor  all 
who  choose  may  aspire,  and  history  has  proved  that 
the  humblest  in  youth  are  frequently  the  most  hon- 
ored and  powerful  in  the  maturity  of  strength  and 
age.  It  has  long  been  demonstrated  that  the  philos- 
ophy of  Jefferson  is  true,  and  that  this,  the  land  of 
the  free  and  self-governed,  is  the  strongest  as  well  as 
the  best  Government  in  the  world.  We  accept  no 
governmental  standards  but  our  own ;  we  will  have 
no  flag  but  the  glorious  old  Stars  and  Stripes. 

"  Workingmen  of  Chicago,  let  me  abjure  you  to 
be  faithful  to  the  acts,  traditions,  and  teachings  of 
the  fathers.  Make  their  standard  of  patriotism  and 


336  LIBERTY  AND  LABOR 

duty  your  own.  Be  faithful  to  their  glorious  exam- 
ple. Whatever  the  difficulties  of  the  present,  or 
problems  of  the  future,  meet  them  in  the  same  spirit 
of  unflinching  loyalty  to  country,  the  same  devotion 
and  love  for  home  and  family,  the  same  acknowledg- 
ment of  dependence  upon  God  that  has  always  char- 
acterized those  grand  men.  Therein  rests  your  great- 
est prosperity  and  happiness  and  the  surest  attainment 
of  your  best  and  dearest  ambitions.  Have  confidence 
in  the  strength  of  our  free  institutions  and  faith  in 
the  justice  of  your  fellow-citizens,  for  as  Lincoln 
often  said  *  there  is  no  other  hope  in  the  world  equal 
to  it/ 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  offer  the  advice  and  ex- 
hortation of  one  who  spoke  on  an  occasion  somewhat 
similar  to  this  in  the  Centennial  year  1876  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  the  venerable  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
of  Massachusetts,  in  his  masterly  Fourth  of  July 
oration  and  one  of  his  last  great  public  addresses. 
He  had  lived  through  nearly  the  whole  period  of  our 
National  existence  and  had  been  an  active  partici- 
pant in  public  affairs  and  a  close  student  of  our  his- 
tory and  people  for  many  years.  With  this  training 
and  all  the  wisdom  of  experience  and  age,  he  pro- 
foundly observed: 

"  *  If  I  could  hope  without  presumption  that  any 
humble  counsels  of  mine  on  this  hallowed  anniver- 
sary would  be  remembered  beyond  the  hour  of  their 
utterance  and  reach  the  ears  of  my  countrymen  in 
future  days,  I  could  not  omit  certainly  to  reiterate 


LIBERTY  AND  LABOK  337 

the  solemn  obligations  which  rest  on  every  citizen 
of  this  Republic  to  cherish  and  enforce  the  great 
principles  of  our  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  fathers 
— the  principles  of  liberty  and  law,  one  and  insepar- 
able— the  principles  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union.  I  could  not  omit  to  urge  every  man  to  re- 
member that  self-government  politically  can  only  be 
successful  if  it  be  accompanied  by  self-government 
personally ;  that  there  must  be  government  some- 
where ;  and  that  if  the  people  are  indeed  to  be 
ereigus  they  must  exercise  their  sovereignty  over 
themselves  individually  as  well  as  over  themselves 
in  the  aggregate — regulating  their  own  lives,  re 
ing  their  own  temptations,  subdning  their  own  pas- 
sions and  voluntarily  imposing  upon  themselves 
some  measure  of  that  restraint  and  discipline  which, 
under  other  systems,  is  supplied  from  the  armories 
of  arbitary  power — the  discipline  of  virtue,  in  the 
place  of  the  discipline  of  slavery.  I  could  not  omit 
to  caution  them  against  the  corrupting  influences  of 
intemperance,  extravagance,  and  luxury  ;  I  could 
not  omit  to  call  upon  them  to  foster  and  further  the 
cause  of  universal  education ;  to  give  a  liberal  sup- 
port to  our  schools  and  colleges;  to  promote  the 
advancement  of  science  and  art  in  all  their  multi- 
plied divisions  and  relations,  and  to  encourage  and 
-.in  all  those  noble  institutions  of  charitv  which 

• 

in  our  own  land,  above  all  others,  have  given  the 
crowning  grace  and  glory  to  modern  civilization.' 
"  It  would  to  me  be  an  honor  beyond  any  other  to 


338  LIBEETY  AND  LABOE 

have  been  the  author  of  these  sublime  sentiments. 
I  can  and  do  adopt  them,  and  beg  you  to  heed, 
cherish,  and  teach  them,  as  a  rule  of  action  to  your- 
selves and  to  your  children.  American  citizenship 
thus  molded  will  perpetuate  freedom,  exalt  the  free- 
man, and  distinguish  the  Republic  beyond  its  past 
glorious  achievements." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MRS.    McKIXLEY    AT    HOME. 

The  great  Protectionist's  Wife — Strong  despite  physical  weakness- 
Shares  all  her  husband's  hurdens — "Ever  happy  when  sur- 
rounded by  friends,  children,  and  roses." 

[SKETCH  BY  Misa  H.  D.  HALLMARK.] 

"  T  AM  very  glad  to  meet  you,"  she  said,  as  I 
neared  her  chair. 

-*"  A  tone  is  the  index  which  gives  you  the  page 
where  a  character  is  written.  The  moment  the  sen- 
tence was  finished  I  knew  Mrs.  William  McKinley 
belonged  to  the  sincerely  gracious  type  of  women. 

It  only  needed  her  face  and  outstretched  hand  to 
verify  the  classification. 

Governor  McKinley  had  brought  me  in  to  meet 
his  wife  through  a  group  of  politicians  and  friends 
who  were  sitting  on  the  terrace  and  wide  veranda  at 
his  house  at  Canton,  O.  As  we  walked  through  the 
shadowy,  spacious  hall  toward  the  sitting-room  the 
laughter  and  hum  of  feminine  voices  reached  me. 

"  I  will  not  disturb  Mrs.  McKinley  if  she  is  en- 
tertaining callers,  Governor,"  I  said. 

309 


340  MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

"Then  I  very  much,  fear  you  would  never  see 
her,"  he  answered.  "  It  is  the  penalty  of  her 
geniality  that  she  gladly  pays.  She  is  ever  happy 
when  surrounded  by  friends,  children,  and  roses." 

And  in  that  atmosphere  I  found  her.  She  had 
visitors  of  the  gentler  sex  from  California  and  Ver- 
mont— friends  whom  she  had  made  in  Congressional 
days.  Roses  were  everywhere.  One  seemed  turned 
loose  in  a  conservatory. 

Two  tiny  chairs  waited  occupancy.  The  Governor 
turned  to  pick  up  a  chubby-faced,  yellow-ringleted 
three-year-old  who  came  with  hands  full  of  flowers 
and  lips  ready  to  be  kissed  by  "  Auntie  McKinley." 

"  That  is  my  name  to  every  acquaintance  under 
ten  years  of  age,"  said  Mrs.  McKinley,  "  It  used  to 
be  my  boast  that  I  knew  every  child  in  Canton.  I 
fear  the  town  grows  beyond  me  now  ;  but  reciprocity 
is  great,  and  the  children  seem  drawn  to  me  because 
they  know  I  love  them  so." 

HER    LOVE   OF   CHILDREN. 

If  Mrs.  McKinley  were  asked  "  What  are  your 
preferences?"  the  first  answer  would  be  "  Children." 

Twenty-three  years  ago  she  lost  the  two  little  ones 
that  came  to  bless  the  sunny  house  at  Canton.  The 
first  was  born  on  Christmas  Day  and  the  second  on 
April  1st. 

Since  the  music  of  the  two  tiny  voices  died  away 
from  her  ears  forever  Mrs.  McKinley  has  found  that 


MRS.  McKIXLEY  AT  HOME  341 

her  heart  throbs  quicker  at  the  prattle  of  a  child  than 
aught  else,  and  that  her  love  is  wide  enough  to  cover 
all  small  lives,  whether  they  be  the  offspring  of  poet 
or  peasant,  king  or  beggar. 

By  the  side  of  her  great  reception  chair  stand  two 
little  rockers.  One  belonged  to  their  first  born  and 
the  other  was  the  infant  throne  of  Mrs.  McKinley 
herself  when  she  was  "  Baby  Saxton,"  and  all  Can- 
ton loved  her. 

For  while  the  branches  of  Mrs.  McKinley 's  life 
have  spread  far  and  wide,  giving  shade,  shelter,  fra- 
grance, and  sweetness  to  many  other  lives,  the  roots 
are  firmly  established  in  that  thriving  little  Western 
town. 

Twenty-six  years  ago  Ida  Saxton  was  Canton's 
belle  and  heiress.  Her  father  was  a  business  man — 
rich  beyond  the  order  for  those  times.  Houses,  lands, 
and  banks  were  his. 

Of  sturdy  old  Presbyterian  stock,  he  brought  up 
his  children  after  the  way  they  should  go,  studying 
the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  and  commit- 
ting the  Shorter  Catechism  to  memory. 

He  was  a  man  of  influence  in  his  county,  and  all 
homage  was  given  to  the  pretty  young  daughter  who 
came  home  after  graduating  at  Media,  Pa.,  and  made 
her  bow  to  the  social  circles  of  Canton.  Her  father, 
however,  had  his  own  ideas  about  girls,  .and  it  was  not 
all  to  be  "  bangs  and  beaux  "  with  his  daughter. 

"  Girls  should  learn  to  do  something  that  will 
bring  them  in  money  if  fortune  should  be  fickle,"  he 


342  MES.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

argued.  And  the  pretty  daughter  was  put  into  his 
own  bank  at  Canton  for  a  year  to  prove  that  Media 
had  taught  her  something  besides  "a  little  Latin." 

"And  the  prospect  looked  quite  dreary  to  me/' 
said  Mrs.  McKinley,  in  talking  it  over,  "  for  all  the 
other  girls  hud  brothers  to  take  them  out,  and  my 
one  was  only  a  wee  lad.  But,"  she  added,  with  a 
twinkle  in  her  great  gray  eyes,  "  every  man  in  town 
promised  to  be  a  brother  to  me,  and,  oh !  I  did  have 
such  a  good  time." 

"  And  the  Governor  ?  Was  he  a  childhood's 
sweetheart,  as  I  have  heard?"  I  asked. 

"  Not  at  all.  He  ran  away  to  the  army  when  he 
was  sixteen,  and  served  along  with  President  Hayes. 
That  was  the  strong  bond  between  them.  After  that 
he  began  his  law  practice  in  Canton,  and — why  then 
the  other  brothers  dropped  off  one  by  one.  Every- 
one approved  of  the  match,  my  father  most  of  all — - 
and  so  we  were  married." 

Where  Mrs.  McKinley  lives  now  the  Governor 
brought  her  home  a  bride.  For  twenty-five  years 
the  house  on  North  Market  Street  has  remained  un- 
altered, and  the  Governor  and  his  wife  dearly  love 
every  picture  on  its  walls  and  every  rose  that  climbs 
over  the  terrace. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church,  a  fine  piece  of 
£tone  architecture,  was  dedicated  by  the  Saxton-Mc- 
Kinley  wedding.  The  builders  hurried  the  prepa- 
rations to  completion  that  this  wedding  might  be 
the  very  first  event  inside  its  walls. 


MRS.  McKIXLEY  AT  HOME  343 

All  the  Saxton's  are  yet  ardent  members  and  sup- 
porters of  it,  but  Mrs.  McKinley  usually  goes  with 
her  husband  to  the  Methodist  Church,  of  which  he 
is  an  enthusiastic  supporter. 

As  Ida  Saxton  was  Canton's  belle  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  so  Mrs.  William  McKinley  is  the  most 
popular  woman  there  to-day.  No  honors  of  State 
or  nation's  capital  have  spoiled  her.  She  inherited 
sterner  stuff  than  that.  She  is  just  as  gracious  to 
some  old  beaux  whose  lives  have  come  to  nothing  as 
she  is  to  an  illustrious  executive. 

She  has  a  keen  interest  in  people.  They  are  more 
to  her  than  position.  It  is  the  individual,  not  the 
class,  for  which  she  cares. 

As  the  Governor  said,  it  would  be  hard  to  see 
Mrs.  McKinley  when  she  didn't  have  callers.  The 
house  is  always  open.  The  neighborly  spirit  which 
rules  in  smaller  towns  exists  in  Canton  to  a  great 
degree,  but  the  neighborliness  to  the  McKinleys 
comes  from  all  points  of  the  Union. 

During  the  day  I  spent  with  them  there  were  no 
fewer  than  fifty  friendly  formal  callers,  and  yet  the 
day  was  not  a  gala  one. 

The  favorite  house-corner  of  the  Governor's  wife 
is  the  great  triple  bow  window  of  the  long  western 
sitting-room. 

Here  she  sits  for  hours,  talking  to  friends,  playing 
with  children,  or  watching  the  passers-by  on  wheels, 
foot,  and  carriage  ;  for  North  Market  Street  is  a 
fashionable  thoroughfare  and  the  town  authorities 


344  MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

wish,  to  shortly  change  the  name  to  the  more  signifi- 
cant and  euphonious  one  of  McKinley  Avenue. 

I  say  she  "  sits  "  there,  for  misfortune  laid  a  heavy 
hand  on  Mrs.  McKinley  twenty-three  years  ago,  and 
the  muscles  of  her  limbs  are  too  weak  to  allow  her 
to  walk. 

For  twenty-three  years,  therefore,  she  has  never 
stood  upright  or  walked  without  assistance. 

By  her  side  always  rests  a  strong  mahogany  cane 
with  a  great  gold  top,  and  a  friend's  arm  serves  for 
the  other  support. 

That  is  the  only  sign  of  invaldism.  Women  with 
far  slighter  physical  troubles  have  worn  weaker 
faces.  Mrs.  McKinley  is  a  tall,  well-rounded,  strong- 
faced,  clear-eyed  woman,  who  needs  must  point  to 
the  staff  and  say,  as  she  does,  smilingly  to  every 
stranger — "  You  see  I'm  not  strong,"  before  there 
comes  a  sj^picion  that  she  cannot  walk  and  ride 
and  wheel  ana  do  aught  that  strong  women  do. 

For  she  looks  so  vital. 

She  is  about  medium  height,  with  a  full,  straight 
figure.  The  face  has  strong  cheek  bones,  a  wide 
brow,  not  very  high,  from  which  her  short,  soft, 
gray  hair  divides  in  broad  parting  and  waves  back 
to  the  collar. 

This  coiffure  is  not  one  of  Mrs.  McKinley's  choos- 
ing, but  her  luxuriant  hair  had  to  be  cut,  as  she  did 
not  feel  quite  strong  enough  to  bear  the  hairpins  and 
braids  through  the  unflagging  duties  as  wife  of  a 
public  man. 


HON.  LYMAN  J.  GAGE. 


HON.  JOHN  D.  LONG. 


MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME  347 

However,  it  is  exceedingly  becoming  to  her.  Her 
brow,  hair,  and  eyes  reminded  me  singularly  of  those 
of  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phe'ps. 

Mrs.  McKinley's  eyes  are  bar  telling  point.  Had 
the  mouth  been  weak  the  eyes  would  have  redeemed 
it.  But  its  strength  says  to  the  eyes,  *'  We  are  one 
in  purpose." 

They  are  magnetic  eyes. 

In  them  one  sees  the  discipline  of  Buffering,  the 
heritage  of  common  sense,  tlu»  ^raciousness  of  a 
kindly  woman,  the  tenderness  of  a  wife  who  loves 
wisely  and  well. 

But  behind  even  that  one  who  watches  sees  the 
steel  badge  of  courage;  the  squareness-  of  judgment 
which  looks  a  world  straight  into  the  fatje  ;  and  some- 
where, away  down  in  a  spot  no  bigger  than  the  small 
end  of  a  wine  funnel,  the  determination  to  be  bigger 
than  anything  than  can  happen  to  her. 

With  such  a  woman  fate  hag  no  victory,  circum- 
stance no  stii;g,  and  chance  would  Lave  made  her  an 
invalid  ;  herself  defeated  it. 


THE  GOVERNOR'S 


Her  physical  weakness  is  no  skdeton  in  a  closet. 
She  speaks  of  it  to  all  acquaintances  —  never  in  a 
desire  to  use  the  first  person  sir.g-ilar,  but  ?is  an  ex- 
planation that  she  doesn't  do  more  as  a  hostess, 
although  every  one  knows  th*it  she  accomplishes 
more  than  many  a  healthy,  selfish  woman. 


348  MES.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

She  was  speaking  of  it  in  the  reception  room  dur- 
ing the  afternoon,  saying  to  an  enthusiastic  biker 
that  wheels  were  a  subject  where  she  didn't  have  to 
fight  for  the  merits  of  her  chosen  one,  for  bicycling 
was  quite  beyond  her  forever,  "As  I  can't  even  walk," 
she  added. 

A  young  girl  quickly  sighed. 

Mrs.  McKinley  turned  to  her  with  that  wonderful 
tenderness  on  her  face  that  comes  to  a  girl's  mouth 
and  eyes  when  her  lover  is  mentioned,  and  said: 
"  But,  my  child,  I  have  the  great  love  of  a  noble 


man." 


And  who  could  sigh  after  that  ? 

The  devotion  of  Governor  McKinley  to  his  wife 
is  party  history.  Were  it  private  talk  only  it  would 
be  indelicate  to  mention  it,  but  everyone  who  has 
ever  come  in  friendly  contact  with  this  couple  know 
of  it. 

He  is  too  keen  a  man  not  to  know  that  the  strong 
face  of  his  wife  shows  a  woman  of  sound  judgment, 
of  wide-mindedness,  of  a  good  insight  into  men  and 
affairs  and  the  causes  that  condition  both,  for  him 
not  to  make  her  his  confidante  and  helpmate. 

That  cool-headed  judiciousness  in  judging  the 
world,  which  was  transmitted  into  her  veins  by  her 
clear-minded  father,  comes  not  amiss  in  the  states- 
man's wife.  The  person  worth  observing  is  observed 
by  Mrs.  McKinley. 

The  advantages  she  has  been  given  as  wife  of  a 
public  man  and  the  advantages  fate  gave  her  of 


MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME  349 

remaining  quiet  and  not  wasting  her  vitality  in  flit- 
ting to  and  fro,  have  developed  that  inborn  trait  to 
a  wonderful  degree — to  an  alarming  degree,  I  should 
say,  to  the  person  who  wished  to  gain  by  deceiving  her. 

HER   WIXNIXG   PERSONALITY. 

But  this  knowledge  of  the  world  does  not  tend  in 
the  smallest  to  harden  the  face.  It  gives  firmness  to 
sweetness,  purpose  to  tenderness,  power  behind  at- 
traction. 

Between  the  level,  black  eyebrows  that  divide  the 
two  color  lines  of  gray  eyes  and  gray  hair,  there  is 
not  a  wrinkle  or  frown.  Nothing  but  disposition 
has  done  this  thing. 

She  is  temperamentally  inclined  not  to  worry,  and 
the  sign  is  there  on  the  smooth,  white  forehead. 
The  absence  of  any  line  is  a  special  conundrum  to 
those  whose  grievances  have  been  slighter,  perhaps, 
but  whose  command  over  self  has  been  less. 

I  asked  an  old  friend  of  Mrs.  McKinley's  if  the 
latter's  temper  was  always  as  equable  as  that  day. 
It  had  been  severely  tried. 

The  day  was  hot,  callers  had  been  constant  since 
eleven  in  the  morning,  and  it  was  then  five,  a  good 
dozen  of  visitors  from  out  of  town  had  remained  to 
luncheon,  among  whom  were  Mark  Hanna,  ex-Sec- 
retary Proctor,  from  Vermont ;  Judge  and  Mrs, 
Speers,  from  California ;  and  several  other  equally 
talked-of  personages,  at  which  table  Mrs.  McKinley 
had  presided. 


350  MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

**  Yes,"  said  the  friend,  "  T.?ve  never  seen  her  pet- 
tish in  my  life.  That  she  sometimes  gets  exceed- 
ingly weary  goes  without  saying,  l>ut  she  seemed  to 
have  schooled  herself  out  of  that  common  heritage 
of  woman — the  desire  to  be  cross  and  unreasonable 
when  tired." 

"Why,  even  when  I  get  a  cold  in  my  head,"  said 

the  wife  of  an  army  officer,  "  I  get  simply  snappish, 

just  as  all  other  women  do,  and  my  husband  says 

warningly,  *  Remember  Mrs.  McKinley,  dear/  and  I 

at  once  am  ashamed  of  myself." 

HER   FAVORITE  NOOK. 

I  spoke  of  the  favorite  place  in  the  McKinley 
home.  It  is  around  a  great  window  that  looks  on  a 
neighbor's  house  and  the  side  terrace,  while  the  two 
French  windows  in  front  open  on  the  wide  veranda 
which  leads  down  to  a  spacious  terrace. 

Mrs.  McKinley's  chair  is  drawn  near  the  bow 
window.  The  nearby  table  is  a  feature  of  the  room. 
It  is  the  one  exhibited  at  the  World's  Fair  in  the 
Ohio  Building,  made  of  handsome  Ohio  woods,  and 
afterward  presented  to  the  Governor  and  his  wife. 

It  is  exceedingly  large  and  beautifully  carved, 
with  great  claw  feet.  On  it  lie  the  periodicals  of 
the  day,  the  mounted  and  framed  photograph  of  the 
Governor's  horse,  "  Midnight,"  cabinets  of  beautiful 
women  and  sandwiched  everywhere,  bowls  and  vases 
of  glorious  roses. 

I  should  not  say  the  roses  wore  "sandwiched/' 


MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME  351 

for  all  else  were  pushed  around  to  make  room  for 
the  splendid  June  beauties  that  friends  keep  this 
corner  abundantly  supplied  with. 

One  great  vase  of  them  was  sent  by  the  fair  grad- 
uates to  whom  the  Governor  had  presented  diplomas 
the  night  before.  And  one  massive  jar  of  the  most 
superb  red  tmes  were  just  unpacked,  sent  by  a  Phila- 
delphia florist,  asking  that  they  might  have  the 
honor  of  being  named  "  the  Mrs.  McKiuley,"  as 
they  were  a  new  variety. 

This  room  is  furnished  in  simple  but  artistic  taste. 
This  is  more  of  a  living  room  than  a  sitting  room. 

The  pictures  are  mostly  of  family  and  friends. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKiuley,  Sr.,  are  there,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Saxton.  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  in  a  double 
frame  are  mounted  on  an  easel,  and  Mrs.  McKinley 
pointed  out  to  me  the  small  daguerreotypes  of  the  wee 
one  that  died,  and  of  her  husband  and  herself  when 
they  began  lite  in  an  unpretentious  way,  but  even 
then  with  "  dreams  of  future  greatness  in  the  eye." 

Autograph  pictures  of  great  artists  in  the  literary 
and  musical  world  dot  the  cosily  papered  walls,  and 
the  fine  piano — also  rose-covered — shows  the  mu- 
sical taste  of  the  hostess. 

Behind  this  sitting-room  is  Mrs,  McKinley's  sleep- 
ing apartment.  It  is  furnished  daintily  in  old  chip- 
pendale  and  brass  couch  with  hangings  of  French 
Cretonne.  The  toilet  table  is  loaded  with  lovely 
silver  articles  and  long  wiiido\vs  open  out  on  more 
green  grass. 


352  MES.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

In  truth,  there  is  no  outlook  in  summer  from  the 
McKinley  home  where  the  eye  doesn't  meet  verdure 
and  flowers. 

As  to  the  dining-room,  one  glance  at  the  long 
dining- table  verifies  what  Fred,  the  colored  major- 
domo  of  the  Governor,  would  tell  you,  that  "  the 
family  is  two,  but  the  table  is  set  for  twelve." 

This  shows  the  hospitality  of  the  home. 

If  Mrs.  McKinley  becomes  mistress  of  the  White 
House,  I  don't  believe  any  exigencies  in  the  social 
life  will  be  too  much  for  her,  accustomed,  as  she  is, 
to  constant  entertaining.  And  her  entertaining, 
mind  you,  is  not  confined  to  their  Canton  home. 
Mrs.  McKinley  goes  everywhere  the  Governor  goes, 
and  all  over  America  she  has  boundlessly  entertained 
and  been  entertained. 

Some  one  spoke  of  her  possible  White  House  duties. 
She  shook  her  head  and  laughed. 

" I've  tried  that  once,"  she  said,  "and  have  ever 
since  said  I  never  wanted  any  longer  duration  of  it. 
I  was  Lady  of  the  White  House  for  two  weeks  dur- 
ing Mrs.  Hayes's  absence. 

"  Mrs.  Hayes  and  I  had  always  been  on  most 
cordial  terms,  and  I  was  as  often  at  the  White  House 
as  she  at  our  hotel.  So  she  persuaded  me  to  stay 
there  during  a  fortnight  of  unavoidable  absence  on 
her  part  during  the  season.  And  I  repeat,  the  posi- 
tion is  no  slight  tax." 

Mrs.  McKinley  is  an  excellent  hostess.  She  was 
either  born  with — although  I  don't  believe  anybody 


MRS.  McKIXLEY  AT  HOME  353 

is — or  she  lias  learned  the  gift  of  listening  and  of 
bringing  the  guests  out.  And  you  know  if  one 
proves  that  you  are  clever  you  are  convinced  of  the 
cleverness  of  the  one  who  does  so. 

So  people  go  away  from  the  Governor's  wife  with 
a  snug,  comfortable  conviction  about  the  region  of 
the  heart  that  they  have  proved  themselves  most 
entertaining  persons. 

Wonderful  gift,  isn't  it? 

But  no  one  would  laugh  more  at  the  suggestion  of 
such  a  trait  on  her  part  than  Mrs.  McKiriley.  "  But, 
my  dear,  I  am  really  so  interested,"  she  would  say. 

HER  WOMAN'S  RIGHTS. 

When  I  said  good-by  to  her  I  almost  told  her 
how  charming  she  was.  I  hope  my  eyes  told  it  to 
her. 

In  the  secret  recesses  of  my  better  sense  I  knew  I 
had  been  lured  into  staying  too  long,  and  yet  her 
parting  graciousness  was  such  that  my  sub-coating 
of  conceit  was  gratified.  That  is  another  straw  which 
shows  her  power  of  making  friends. 

Going  down  the  terrace,  where  the  men  portion  of 
the  callers  sat  on  garden  chairs,  taking  their  ease 
while  they  talked  on  matters  of  quivering  import- 
ance, I  turned  back  to  get  a  last  glimpse  of  the 
favorite  corner. 

The  setting  sun  touched  the  rose  petals  into  pris- 
matic colors  and  glinted  on  the  yellow  curls  of  a 
baby  caller  seated  in  one  of  the  little  chairs. 


354'  MRS.  McKINLEY  AT  HOME 

Mrs.  Melvinley  sat  in  her  large  chair ;  in  her  firm 
white  hand  she  held  a.  great-hearted  crimson  rose ; 
on  her  shoulder  was  lightly  laid  the  hand  of  the  man 
of  the  hour ;  back  of  her  stood  several  powers  in  the 
affairs  of  the  nation. 

And  I  knew  that  whatever  the  political  creed  of 
those  men,  they  believe  in  woman's  rights-— the  right 
of  their  chivalry  and  tenderness  and  loyalty  and  de- 
votion and  homage  to  such  a  wide-minded,  great- 
hearted, fine-sonled  lady. 

Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  woman. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

McKINLEY  ON   THE   DAY   OF   HIS   NOMINATION. 

His  good  nerve  and  thoughtful  courtesies — He  was  quiet  through  the 
storm  and  gave  the  good  news  with  kisses  to  his  wife  and 
mother. 

JUNE  18th,  1896,  was  an  ideal  June  day  at  Can- 
ton ;  the  air  full  of  golden  sunshine.     The  ex- 
pectation and  strain  of  excitement  of  the  people, 
who  have  a  passionate  admiration  and  affection  for 
Major  McKinley,  were  unmistakable,  hut  they  waited 
with  the  supreme  dignity  of  confidence. 

Major  McKinley  was  awakened  rather  early  from 
a  sound  sleep  by  the  clicking  of  the  telegraph  in- 
struments in  his  office  making  an  unusual  clamor 
that  penetrated  the  walls,  but  his  eye  glowed  with 
energy,  there  was  a  fiery  spark  under  his  dark, 
shaggy  brows,  and  the  fine,  strong  lines  of  his  mouth 
were  accentuated.  The  day  was  not  far  advanced 
when  a  group  of  newspaper  men  gathered  on  the 
shady  porch  of  the  Major's  residence,  which  seems 
to  be  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  park,  adorned  with 
pleasant  homes,  standing  in  glossy  lawns  and  amidst 

lovely  trees. 

355 


356  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

There  was  keen  competition  between  the  Western 
Union  and  Postal  Telegraph  Companies  and  the 
Long  Distance  Telephone,  transmitting  the  Con- 
vention news  to  the  Major,  and  he  was  quietly  seated 
in  a  rocking-chair,  slowly  swinging  and  chatting, 
and  as  the  telegrams  were  handed  him,  he  coolly 
scanned  them,  repeated  their  substance — often  the 
exact  words — in  unconcerned  tones  explained  them 
upon  inquiry,  and,  after  elucidation,  passed  them  on 
to  others.  It  was  noticeable  that  he  -frequently  re- 
ceived confidential  messages— and,  of  course,  did  not 
share  them  with  his  visitors. 

The  intervals  were  filled  with  conversation,  in 
which  the  Major  related  anecdotes  of  the  National 
Conventions,  and  of  Mr.  Elaine  and  the  great  Re- 
publicans of  other  days,  and  the  newspaper  veterans 
drew  from  him  old  recollections. 

He  followed  intently  the  story  of  the  silver  seces- 
sion, recognizing  the  parliamentary  situation  point 
by  point,  and  concisely  explaining  the  entanglement. 

His  face  was  very  serious  and  stern  when  listening 
to  the  account  of  the  retirement  of  some  of  the  silver 
States,  and  broke  into  a  smile,  winning  as  the  glance 
of  a  boy,  as  the  announcement  was  made  of  the  alter- 
nates taking  the  places  of  the  fugitives  ;  and  there 
was  an  expression  of  pleasure  from  him  when  the 
Montana  man  stood  up  and  stuck  to  the  Convention, 
and  spoke  for  his  State  in  terse  and  ringing  terms. 

There  were  many  callers,  and  the  Major  was  atten- 
tive to  all,  remembering  the  names  of  acquaintances, 


DAY   OF    XO.MIXATl'  '^~ 

asking  apt  and  incisive  questions,  and  commending 
every  sign  of  patience  and  the  presence  of  a  spirit 
of  conciliation  in  the  Convention.  He  forgot  noth- 
ing that  was  courteous  and  appropriate,  and  was  as 
hearty  and  thoughtful  as  if  holding  a  reception  of 
inconsiderable  import. 

The  enthusiasts  of  the  early  business  hours  of  the 
eventful  day  were  flitting  about  in  the  forms  of  de- 
lightful young  ladies,  wearing  breezy  and  bright 
spring  suits,  and  they  had  joyous  faces  and  walked 
as  if  to  dancing  music.  They  were  the  people  who 
had  no  doubts  of  the  fortunes  of  the  day. 

As  the  Major  rocked  on  his  porch,  enjoying  the 
freshness  of  the  air  that  was  balmy,  though  touched 
with  fire,  the  carriages  that  clattered  down  the  broad 
street  filled  with  people,  all  contained  persons  who 
recognized  the  hero  of  the  day,  and  he  returned  their 
salutes  with  his  accustomed  urbanity  and  manner,  at 
once  graceful  and  stately. 

Ladies  of  the  family  came  up  the  walk  from  the 
street  to  the  house,  with  serious  faces,  and  as  the 
Major  rose  to  greet  them  he  asked,  "  Is  mother  com- 
ing up  to-day  ?"  And  the  answer  was,  "  Yes,  she 
will  be  here." 

An  old  friend  near  the  Major  appeared  to  be  dis- 
turbed at  the  protracted  discussions,  as  it  seemed,  of 
the  silver  and  gold  question,  and  the  Major  snid, 
"  Why,  Judge,  you  seem  to  be  impatient.  If  you 
show  so  much  anxiety  I  shall  have  to  console  you." 
The  Major  did  not  allow  any  word  that  was  tinged 


353  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

with  fault-finding  relating  to  proceedings  at  St.  Louis 
to  pass  without  dissent,  and  remarked  the  Conven- 
tions were  all,  in  many  ways,  alike ;  and  he  acted  up 
constantly  to  the  spirit  of  his  last  words  to  Mark 
Hanna  as  that  successful  man  was  setting  forth, 
conquering  and  to  conquer,  for  St.  Louis — the 
Major's  final  word  was :  "  Your  duty  now  is  one  of 
conciliation."  This  has  been  the  policy  of  McKinley 
throughout. 

About  one  o'clock  a  carriage  drove  up  and  three 
ladies  descended,  the  Major  hastening  forward  to  greet 
them.  The  venerable  woman,  with  Roman  features, 
was  the  Major's  mother,  and  with  her  were  his  sisters. 

About  two  o'clock  there  was  lunch,  Mrs. 
McKinley  at  the  head  of  the  table.  She  has, 
happily,  improved  in  health,  and  her  conversation 
sparkled  with  a  sweet  and  pensive  but  pronounced 
personality.  She  has  not  been  in  favor  of  the  Presi- 
dential business.  Of  course,  she  wants  her  husband 
to  win  now,  but  she  would  rather  he  had  not  been 
drawn  into  the  stream  of  events  that  is  bearing  him 
on  to  higher  destinies,  for  the  tendency  of  the  great 
office  will  be  to  absorb  the  Major's  attention,  so  that 
she  can  hardly,  however  great  his  devotion,  have  all 
the  time  in  his  society  she  would  fondly  claim  as  her 
own. 

During  lunch  the  telegrams  continued  to  come,  and 
one  from  an  old  friend  was  full  of  congratulations  by 
anticipation,  and  called  attention  to  two  texts  of 
Scripture. 


DAY  OF  NOMINATION  359 

There  was  at  once  curiosity  to  read  the  passages, 
and  Mrs.  McKinley's  Bible  was  brought.  A  gentle- 
man at  the  table  said  that,  of  course,  Mr.  McKinley's 
Bible  could  be  known  to  him  only  by  the  cover, 
as  he  was  too  busy  a  man  to  get  acquainted  with  the 
inside.  Mrs.  McKinley  said,  in  a  spirited  way,  "  He 
does,  indeed,  know  the  inside  of  his  Bible — no  man 
better,  I  assure  you ;  and  I  speak  that  which  I  do 
know." 

The  texts  that  had  been  solemnly  called  to  the 
Major's  attention  were  the  following : 

Jeremiah  xx,  11 :  "  But  the  Lord  is  with  me  as  a 
mighty  terrible  one ;  therefore  my  persecutors  shall 
stumble,  and  they  shall  not  prevail ;  they  shall  be 
greatly  ashamed,  for  they  shall  not  prosper ;  their 
everlasting  confusion  shall  never  be  forgotten." 

Psalms  xlvii,  6 :  "  Sing  praises  to  God,  sing  praises ; 
sing  praises  unto  our  King,  sing  praises." 

These  remarkable  passages  were  read  by  a  lady 
and  their  fitness  to  the  occasion  commented  upon  by 
the  guests.  The  Major  was  silent,  but  he  no  doubt 
thought  his  persecutors  were  stumbling  and  would 
not  prevail  and  should  be  greatly  ashamed. 

It  had  been  the  prevalent  presumption  up  to  this 
time  that  there  would  be  a  recess  after  the  platform 
was  adopted,  and  that  the  nominating  speeches  spun 
out  so  as  to  throw  the  nomination  into  the  night. 

But  lunch  had  hardly  been  concluded  when  the 
St.  Louis  news,  through  the  long  distance  telephone 
and  both  wires  simultaneously  told  that  the  fight  was 


360  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

on  to  a  finish — that  the  rush  of  events  had  been  has- 
tened, and  the  crisis  was  close  at  hand. 

McKinley's  office,  to  which  he  now  repaired,  is 
adorned  with  portraits  of  Lincoln  and  Grant  and 
Mrs.  McKinley,  a  fine  scene  of  a  battery  in  a  hot 
engagement,  and  some  personal  friends. 

When  it  was  announced  that  the  nominating 
speeches  were  about  to  be  made,  the  Major  took  his 
seat  in  a  heavy  arm-chair,  beside  his  working  desk, 
with  a  pad  of  paper  in  his  left  hand  and  a  pencil  in 
his  right.  Behind  him  was  the  telephone  apparatus 
with  an  expert,  connected  direct  with  the  Convention 
Hall.  Thus  there  were  three  avenues  of  lightning 
line  service  between  the  Major's  office  and  the  Con- 
vention Hall — the  Postal  and  Western  Union,  and 
the  Long  Distance  Telephone. 

The  Major's  face  was  grave.  There  were  deep 
fires  in  his  eyes,  and  his  intellectual  pallor,  always 
noticeable,  now  gave  his  features  the  stern  grace  of 
carved  marble.  It  is  a  fancy  founded  on  fact  that 
Major  McKinley  looks  like,  Napoleon,  but  to-day  he 
looked  marvelously  like  Daniel  Webster. 

The  warm  reception  of  Senator  Lodge  by  the 
Convention  elicited  an  expression  of  sympathy  from 
the  Major,  who  expressed  his  sense  of  the  wonderful 
fact  that,  though  so  far  from  the  Convention,  we 
were  yet  so  near,  and  knew  absolutely  as  much  of 
the  proceedings,  precisely  as  they  occurred,  as  if  we 
were  bodily  present.  I  mentioned  to  the  Major  that 
my  experience  warranted  the  observation  that  I  knew 


DAY   OF  XOMJXATION  361 

more  of  the  Convention  in  the  seat  by  his  side  than 
when  in  a  reporter's  seat  in  Convention  Hall. 

Suddenly  there  came  word  almost  at  the  same 
moment  through  the  three  wires,  that  Ohio  had 
been  called  and  that  Foraker  making  his  way  to 
the  platform  and  was  received  with  tremendous 
cheering,  also  that  the  hall  was  flooded  with  sun- 
shine, welcoming  the  soldier-boy  son  of  Ohio,  about 
to  nominate  another  soldier-boy  and  son  of  the  mod- 
ern mother  of  Presidents.  The  two  boy-soldiers 
were  famous  ex-Governors  of  their  State. 

The  word  came  in  a  moment  that  Foraker  was 
about  to  speak.  McKinley  was  asked  whether  For- 
aker's  speech  was  probably  prepared,  and  the  Major 
said  it  was  not,  he  supposed,  written,  but  Foraker 
knew  very  well  the  main  things  he  was  about  to  say, 
and  was  a  keen,  brilliant  man,  who  knew  how  to 
make  the  best  of  the  opportunities  on  the  spot.  The 
occasion  for  the  inquiry  as  to  the  preparation  For- 
aker had  made  was  that  one  of  the  correspondents 
present  had  seen  several  of  the  nominating  speeches 
in  type  and  gave  interesting  information  as  to  their 
length  and  character. 

The  young  ladies  in  the  parlor  across  the  hall  from 
the  office  had  a  look  in  which  glee  and  distress  were 
comically  mingled,  and  the  Major  walked  up  to 
them,  saying  with  gayety,  "  Are  you  young  ladies 
getting  anxious  about  this  affair  ?" 

They  admitted  that  they  were  really  nervous. 
The  Major  reassured  them,  and  took  his  big  chair, 


362  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

placing  his  silk  hat  on  an  adjacent  table,  and  relaps- 
ing into  meditation.  For  a  minute  his  pale,  fixed 
features  showed  he  was  thinking,  perhaps  as  much  of 
the  far-off  past  as  of  the  near  and  rising  future,  and 
no  one  disturbed  his  day  dream.  This  was  just  as 
Foraker  was  waiting  for  the  storm  of  applause  that 
greeted  him  to  subside,  so  as  to  be  allowed  to  go  on 
with  his  speech. 

It  was  at  3.21  o'clock,  according  to  all  the  watches 
in  the  Major's  room,  when  word  came  that  at  that 
moment  Foraker  pronounced  the  name  of  McKinley, 
and  then  came  the  tornado  of  applause,  which  lasted 
for  nearly  half  an  hour.  There  was  a  pause  at  our 
end  of  the  wire,  and  the  Major  joined  in  exchange 
of  recollections  with  the  veterans  about  the  contests 
in  cheering  that  distinguished  the  Convention  of  1880 
at  Chicago,  between  the  supporters  of  Grant  and  those 
of  Blaine — the  most  celebrated  of  all  the  contests  in 
cheering. 

The  Major  stepped  to  the  telephone  and  listened  to 
the  roar  of  the  Convention  at  St.  Louis.  He  heard 
it  distinctly,  and,  following  his  example,  we  could 
make  out  a  vast  tumult,  struck  through  with  shrill 
notes.  It  was  like  a  storm  at  sea,  with  wild,  fitful 
shrieks  of  wind. 

As  time  passed,  and  Foraker  could  not  still  the 
tempest  he  had  raised,  some  one  said  he  might  not 
be  able  to  regain  the  thread  of  his  speech,  and  the 
Major  remarked  it  was  hard  on  a  speaker  to  be  held 
up  in  that  way — it  was  like  stopping  a  race  horse  in 


GENERAL  LEW  WALLACE. 


EX-SECRETARY  OF  STATE  DAY. 


DAY   OF  NOMINATION  365 

full  career.  But  the  Major  said  Foraker  would  come 
out  of  such  a  scene  in  triumph,  and  referred  with 
warm  admiration  to  his  "  gem  of  a  speech  "  at  the 
late  Republican  State  Convention. 

The  monotony  of  waiting  was  broken  by  a  telegram 
from  an  unknown  source,  giving  McKinley  assur- 
ance that  he  "  would  be  nominated  on  the  first 
ballot. "  This  raised  a  laugh,  but  the  Major  only 
smiled,  and  made  a  suggestion  as  to  the  happening 
of  the  unexpected  and  the  marvels  of  disappoint- 
ment. "  You  may  all,  after  all,  find  yourselves 
much  mistaken  at  last,"  said  the  Major,  gravely, 
as  if  in  warning  not  to  tempt  Providence  by  being 
too  sure. 

Telegrams  poured  in,  and  the  Major  read  them 
and  directed  they  should  be  given  to  those  outside 
the  house — where  were  a  dozen  very  old  friends  and 
twice  that  number  of  members  of  the  press.  The 
Major  at  this  supreme  hour  directed  the  placing  of 
chairs  for  new  arrivals,  and  had  greater  self-com- 
mand than  anybody  else.  He  showed  his  training 
in  war  and  peace — and  as  he  held  up  telegrams  in 
one  hand  to  read,  there  was  not  a  flutter  of  the  thin 
sheets  to  tell  a  tale  of  nervousness. 

The  message  came,  "  Foraker  is  trying  to  resume 
his  speech,"  and  at  this  there  was  a  smile.  In  an- 
other minute  the  telephone  expert  repeated  Foraker's 
words  about  McKinley  when  he  resumed,  "You 
seem  to  have  heard  of  him  before." 

"Ah,"  said  the  Major,  "that  is  like  him.     He 


366  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

knows  what  he  is  doing,  and  is  all  right.  The  inter- 
ruption will  not  shake  his  speech." 

The  Ohio  men  with  the  Governor  laughed  im- 
mensely at  the  stories  by  the  triple  wires  of  Mark 
Hanna  and  Bushnell  and  Grosvenor  and  Foraker 
hugging  and  fanning  each  other  and  yelling  like 
maniacs.  Surely  mercy  and  peace  have  kissed  each 
other,  and  the  year  of  jubilee  has  come ! 

There  was  a  laugh  over  Depew's  humorous  illus- 
tration of  the  famous  saying,  touching  the  silver 
secessionists,  of  the  celebrated  phrase,  "  erring  sis- 
ters, depart  in  peace." 

There  was  some  levity  about  the  effort  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  make  a  noise,  over  Quay's  presentation 
equal  to  that  which  welcomed  McKinley's  name,  but 
the  face  of  the  Major — which  was  growing  earnest  as 
the  moment  approached  for  the  call  of  the  roll  of 
States  for  the  ballot — gave  no  encouragement  to  per- 
sonal reflections.  When  it  was  mentioned  that  Gov- 
ernor Hastings  had  spoken,  some  one  said  to  the  tele~ 
phone  expert :  "  Ask  how  long  the  Quay  applause 
lasted." 

"  No,  no  I"  said  the  Major,  "  Do  not  ask  that  ques- 
tion," and  it  was  riot  asked. 

There  were  a  few  minutes  in  which  it  was  known 
that  the  call  of  the  roll  for  balloting  was  the  immi- 
nent order  of  exercises,  and  the  air  in  McKinley's 
office  grew  sultry  and  still.  There  was  heat  and 
silenca  McKinley  picked  up  his  pad  and  pencil, 
and  proposed  to  keep  an  account  of  the  vote.  He 


DAY  OF  NOMINATION  367 

evidently  then  in  fancy  floated  far  away,  and  was  in 
solitude,  and  hummed  for  a  few  moments  the  air 
of  an  old  song.  It  was  so  soft  and  low  that  few 
heard  it,  and  then  it  was  no  more  and  was  like  a 
dream  within  a  dream — something  quaint,  almost 
mystical,  an  echo  of  music,  perhaps,  of  the  long  ago. 
It  did  not  occur  to  me  at  the  moment  what  it  was, 
but  it  is  interesting  that  it  was  the  Scotch  war  song 
that  Burns  ennobled  and  immortalized  in  his  Ban- 
nockburn,  "  Scots  whom  Bruce  has  often  led." 

Moments  passed,  and  then  the  Major  whistled 
two  or  three  bars  two  or  three  times,  quietly,  un- 
consciously. Suddenly  the  silence  was  abruptly 
broken  by  the  announcement:  Alabama,  18  for 
McKinley." 

Then  figures  came  thick  and  fast,  and  challenges 
followed  of  the  votes  of  several  States. 

Two  or  three  present  did  not  know  what  that 
meant,  and  the  Major,  clearly  and  carefully,  with 
perfect  command  of  every  point  raised,  stated  the 
situation. 

"  But  why,"  the  question  was  asked,  "  do  they 


contested?" 

"  It  is  necessary,"  the  Major  explained, "  that  gen- 
tlemen should  go  upon  the  record  if  they  care  to  do 
so,"  and  he  added,  "  there  ar<3  disputes  between  the 
delegates,  and  tlie  chairmen  of  delegations  who 
enounce  the  figures,  and  it  can  only  be  settled  by 
polling  tM  vote  of  the  State." 


368  DAY  OF  NOMINATION 

The  voice  of  the  Major  was  not  heard,  a  profound 
silence  ensued,  when  the  telephone  gave  forth,  "  the 
Alabama  vote  sustained."  The  Major  smiled,  and 
then,  as  the  votes  for  him  swelled  into  hundreds,  he 
kept  the  count  without  a  change  of  countenance — 
not  even  when  the  Ohio  man  next  to  him  said: 
"  The  Ohio  vote,  now  to  be  thrown  in  two  or  three 
minutes,  will  nominate  you  with  a  margin  of  a  dozen, 
and  that  will  please  Ohio." 

The  recording  angel,  in  the  guise  of  a  beautiful 
young  lady  in  the  hall,  claimed  that  the  Major's  vote 
was  more  than  it  had  been  represented,  and  he 
quickly  responded :  "  Be  careful  what  you  claim. 
We  must  have  a  fair  count." 

One  of  the  veterans  asked,  repeatedly :  "Where 
is  Idaho  ?"  and  there  were  inquiries  for  other  States, 

The  Major  explained  that  some  of  the  States  had 
gone  out,  and  there  might  be  cases  not  covered  by 
alternates. 

"  Possibly,  Sam,"  said  the  Major  to  the  telephonist, 
"  Idaho  went  out,"  and  so  on  to  the  last,  the  Major 
was  clear-headed,  composed,  cool,  and  decided.  Not 
a  tremor  in  hand  or  voice,  the  figures  his  pencil 
traced  were  well  formed,  his  voice  low  and  even,  but 
his  pale,  strong  face  seemed  to  grow  in  grandeur  and 
to  take  on  an  august  expression  of  conscious,  lofty 
fortune,  and  fearful  responsibility. 

With  firm  fingers  the  Major  wrote  on  his  tab  the 
fateful  ballots,  and  the  mighty  vote  of  Ohio,  46 
strong,  rolled  in.  The  Major  put  that  down,  too, 


430  DAY  OF  NOMINATION  301) 

and  did  not  look  up  or  seem  to  be  aware  of  all  it 
exactly  and  conclusively  meant. 

The  Ohio  man  next  him  threw  down  his  pencil, 
saying :  "  There,  that  settles  it,  no  more  figures  for 
me." 

The  Major  looked  up  with  an  air  of  curiosity,  say- 
ing :  "  Why  are  you  no  longer  interested  ?" 

The  reply  was :  "  Because  the  thing  is  done ;  let 
the  boys  cipher.  The  majority  will  be  big  enough. 
Major,  I  congratulate  you.  God  bless  you  and  give 
you  all  good  gifts ;  and  now  you  have  just  a  quarter 
of  a  minute,  before  you  are  mobbed,  to  greet  your 
wife  and  mother." 

He  quickly  crossed  the  hall  to  the  parlor, 
crowded  with  ladies,  and,  as  his  wife  and  mother 
were  seated  side  by  side,  stooped  low  to  kiss  them 
and  clasp  their  eager  hands,  the  wife  responding 
with  a  bright  smile  and  a  sweet  exaltation  in  her 
eyes,  as  he  told  her  that  the  vote  of  Ohio  had  given 
him  the  nomination,  and  the  grand  old  mother, 
placing  a  trembling  hand  on  her  son's  neck,  and  her 
eyes  streaming  with  tears,  brighter  even  than  smiles, 
whispered  to  her  illustrious  boy  some  holy  words  for 
him  alone. 

At  this  moment  the  bells  rang,  the  whistles  blew, 
the  cannon  thundered,  and  beautiful  Canton  went 
stark,  gloriously  mad.  The  city,  under  a  strong 
pressure,  had  kept  quiet.  There  was  a  determina- 
tion that  there  would  be  nothing  done  prematurely. 
Now  the  city  blazed  with  bunting.  There  were 


370  BAY  OF  NOMINATION 

whirring  carriages,  galloping  horses,  wheel  men  and 
women  swift  as  the  wind !  There  seemed  to  have 
been  an  organization,  including  all  the  men,  women, 
and  children,  to  demonstrate  instantly  the  moment 
the  momentous  signal  was  given. 

As  I  hastened  to  the  telegraph  office  there  was  a 
vast  multitude  precipating  themselves  in  a  gigantic, 
ungovernable  procession  upon  Governor  McKinley  « 
house,  and  there,  with  wife  and  mother  at  the  win- 
dow with  him,  he  acknowledged  his  gratitude  to  his 
neighbors  first  of  all,  and  to  his  countrymen  for  their 
personal  kindness,  and  his  voice  had  the  fine  tone  of 
resolution  and  sincerity  that  all  who  know  him 
know,  and  that  they  hear  with  joyful  confidence  that 
heaven  has  sent  a  man  of  such  manliness  to  serve 
his  country  in  her  great  office,  and  help  her  upward 
and  forward  to  her  incomparable  destiny. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MAJOR    MCKINLEY     ACKNOWLEDGES     AND     ACCEPTS     HIS 

NOMINATION. 


letter  of   Major   McKinley,   accepting    his 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  by  the  National 
Republican  Convention,  was  delivered  by  him 
to  the  press  for  publication  on  the  evening  of  August 
26.     It  read  as  follows  : 

Canton,  0.,  August  26,  1896. 

Hon.  John  M.  Thurston  and  others,  members  of  the 
Notification  Committee  of  the  Republican  National 
Convention  : 

Gentlemen  :  —  In  pursuance  of  the  promise  made  to 
your  committee  when  notified  of  my  nomination  as 
the  Republican  candidate  for  President,  I  beg  to  sub- 
mit this  formal  acceptance  of  that  high  honor  and  to 
consider  in  detail  questions  at  issue  in  the  pending 
campaign. 

Perhaps  this  might  be  considered  unnecessary  in 
view  of  my  remarks  on  that  occasion  and  those  I 
have  made  to  delegations  that  have  visited  me  since 
the  St.  Lous  Convention,  but  in  view  of  the  momen- 
tous importance  of  the  proper  settlement  of  the  issues 

371 


372  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

presented  on  our  future  prosperity  and  standing  as  a 
nation,  and  considering  only  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  our  people,  I  could  not  be  content  to  ornit 
again  calling  attention  to  the  questions  which  in  my 
opinion  vitally  affect  our  strength  and  position  among 
the  governments  of  the  world  and  our  morality,  in- 
tegrity and  patriotism  as  citizens  of  that  Republic 
which  for  a  century  past  has  been  the  best  hope  of 
the  world  and  the  inspiration  of  mankind. 

We  must  not  now  prove  false  to  our  own  high 
standards  in  government  nor  unmindful  of  the  noble 
example  and  wise  precepts  of  the  fathers,  or  of  the 
confidence  and  trust  which  our  conduct  in  the  past 
has  always  inspired. 

For  the  first  time  since  1868,  if  ever  before,  there 
is  presented  to  the  American  people  this  year  a  clear 
and  direct  issue  as  to  our  monetary  system,  of  vast 
importance  in  its  effects,  and  upon  the  right  settle- 
ment of  which  rests  largely  the  financial  honor  and 
prosperity  of  the  country. 

It  is  proposed  by  one  wing  of  the  Democratic  party 
and  its  allies,  the  People's  and  Silver  parties,  to  in- 
augurate the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  by 
independent  action  on  part  of  the  United  States  at  a 
ratio  of  sixteen  ounces  of  silver  to  one  ounce  of  gold. 

The  mere  declaration  of  this  purpose  is  a  menace 
to  our  financial  and  industrial  interests  and  has 
already  created  universal  alarm.  It  involves  great 
peril  to  the  credit  and  business  of  the  country — a 
peril  so  grave  that  conservative  men  everywhere  are 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  373 

breaking  away  from  their  old  party  associations  and 
uniting  with  other  patriotic  citizens  in  emphatic  pro- 
test against  the  platform  of  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  as  an  assault  upon  the  faith  and  honor 
of  the  Government  and  the  welfare  of  the  people. 
We  have  had  few  questions  in  the  lifetime  of  the 
Republic  more  serious  than  the  one  which  is  thus 
presented. 

The  character  of  the  money  which  shall  measure 
our  values  and  exchanges,  and  settle  our  balances 
with  one  another  and  with  the  nations  of  the  world, 
is  of  such  primary  importance  and  so  far-reaching  in 
its  consequences  as  to  call  for  the  most  painstaking 
investigation,  and,  in  the  end,  a  sober  and  unpreju- 
diced judgment  at  the  polls.  We  must  not  be  mis- 
led by  phrases  nor  deluded  by  false  theories. 

Free  silver  would  not  mean  that  silver  dollars  were 
to  be  freely  had  without  cost  or  labor.  It  would 
mean  the  free  use  of  the  mints  of  the  United  States 
for  the  few'  who  are  owners  of  silver  bullion,  but 
would  make  silver  coin  no  freer  to  the  many  who  are 
engaged  in  other  enterprises. 

It  would  not  make  labor  easier,  the  hours  of  labor 
shorter,  or  the  pay  better.  It  would  not  make 
Arming  less  laborious  or  more  profitable.  It  would 
not  start  a  factory  or  make  a  demand  for  an  ad- 
ditional day's  labor.  It  would  create  no  new  occu- 
pations. It  would  add  nothing  to  the  comfort  of  the 
masses,  the  capital  of  the  people  or  the  wealth  of  the 
nation. 


374  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

It  seeks  to  introduce  a  new  measure  of  value,  but 
would  add  no  value  to  the  thing  measured.  It 
would  not  conserve  values.  On  the  contrary,  it 
would  derange  all  existing  values.  It  would  not  re- 
store business  confidence,  but  its  direct  effect  would 
be  to  destroy  the  little  which  yet  remains. 

The  meaning  of  the  coinage  plank  adopted  at 
Chicago  is  that  anyone  may  take  a  quantity  of  silver 
bullion  now  worth  fifty-three  cents  to  the  mints  of 
the  United  States,  have  it  coined  at  the  expense  of 
the  Government,  and  receive  for  it  a  silver  dollar 
which  shall  be  legal  tender  for  the  payment  of  all 
debts,  public  and  private. 

The  owner  of  the  silver  bullion  would  get  the 
silver  dollar.  It  would  belong  to  him  and  to  nobody 
else.  Other  people  would  get  it  only  by  their  labor, 
the  products  of  their  land,  or  something  of  value. 

The  bullion  owner  on  the  basis  of  present  values 
would  receive  the  silver  dollar  for  fifty-three  cents' 
worth  of  silver,  and  other  people  would  be  required 
to  receive  it  as  a  full  dollar  in  payment  of  debts. 
The  Government  would  get  nothing  from  the  trans- 
action. It  would  bear  the  expense  of  coining  the 
silver  and  the  community  would  suffer  loss  by  its 
use. 

We  have  coined  since  1878  more  than  400,000,000 
silver  dollars,  which  are  maintained  by  the  Govern- 
ment at  parity  with  gold  and  are  a  full  legal  tender 
for  the  payment  of  all  debts,  public  and  private. 


McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  378 

How  are  the  silver  dollars  now  in  use  different  from 
those  which  would  be  in  use  under  free  coinage  ? 

They  are  to  be  of  the  same  weight  and  fineness ; 
they  are  to  bear  the  same  stamp  of  the  Government. 
Why  would  they  not  be  of  the  same  value  ?  I  an- 
swer :  The  silver  dollars  now  in  use  were  coined  on 
account  of  the  Government,  and  not  for  private  ac- 
count or  gain,  and  the  Government  has  solemnly 
agreed  to  keep  them  as  good  as  the  best  dollars  we 
have. 

The  Government  bought  the  silver  bullion  at  its 
market  value  and  coined  it  into  silver  dollars.  Hav- 
ing exclusive  control  of  the  mintage,  it  only  coins 
what  it  can  hold  at  a  parity  with  gold.  The  profit, 
representing  the  difference  between  the  commercial 
value  of  the  silver  bullion  and  the  face  value  of  the 
silver  dollar,  goes  to  the  Government  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people. 

The  Government  bought  the  silver  bullion  con- 
tained in  the  silver  dollar  at  very  much  less  than  its 
coinage  value.  It  paid  it  out  to  its  creditors,  and 
put  it  in  circulation  among  the  people  at  its  face  value 
of  one  hundred  cents,  or  a  full  dollar. 

It  required  the  people  to  accept  it  as  a  legal  ten- 
der, and  is  thus  morally  bound  to  maintain  it  at  a 
parity  with  gold,  which  was  then,  as  now,  the  recog- 
nized standard  with  us  and  the  most  enlightened 
nations  of  the  world. 

The  Government  having  issued  and  circulated  the 
silver  dollar  must  in  honor  protect  the  holder  from 


376  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

loss.  This  obligation  it  has  so  far  sacredly  kept. 
Not  only  is  there  a  moral  obligation,  but  there  is  a 
legal  obligation,  expressed  in  public  statute,  to  main- 
tain the  parity. 

These  dollars,  in  the  particulars  I  have  named,  are 
not  the  same  as  the  dollars  which  would  be  issued 
under  free  coinage.  They  would  be  the  same  in  form, 
but  different  in  value. 

The  Government  would  have  no  part  in  the  trans- 
action except  to  coin  the  silver  bullion  into  dollars. 
It  would  share  in  no  part  of  the  profit.  It  would 
take  upon  itself  no  obligation.  It  would  not  put  the 
dollars  into  circulation. 

It  could  only  get  them  as  any  citizen  would  get 
them,  by  giving  something  for  them.  It  would  de- 
liver them  to  those  who  deposited  the  silver,  and  its 
connection  with  the  transaction  there  end. 

Such  are  the  silver  dollars  which  would  be  issued 
under  free  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  16  to  1. 
Who  would  then  maintain  the  parity  ?  What  would 
keep  them  at  par  with  gold  ? 

There  would  be  no  obligation  resting  upon  the 
Government  to  do  it,  and  if  there  were,  it  would  be 
powerless  to  do  it.  The  simple  truth  is  we  would  be 
driven  to  a  silver  basis — to  silver  monometallism. 

These  dollars,  therefore,  would  stand  upon  their 
real  value.  If  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  ounces  of  silver  to  one 
ounce  of  gold  would,  as  some  of  its  advocates  assert, 
make  fifty-three  cents  in  silver  worth  one  hundred 


McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  377 

cents,  and  the  silver  dollar  equal  to  the  gold  dollar, 
then  we  would  have  no  cheaper  money  than  now,  and 
it  would  be  no  easier  to  get. 

But  that  such  would  be  the  result  is  against  reason 
and  is  contradicted  by  experience  in  all  times  and  in 
all  lands.  It  means  the  debasement  of  our  currency 
to  the  amount  of  the  difference  between  the  com- 
mercial and  coin  value  of  the  silver  dollar,  which  is 
ever  changing,  and  the  effect  would  be  to  reduce  pro- 
perty values,  entail  untold  financial  loss,  destroy  con^ 
fidence,  impair  the  obligations  of  existing  contracts, 
further  impoverish  the  laborer  and  producers  of  the 
country,  create  a  panic  of  unparalleled  severity,  and 
inflict  upon  trade  and  commerce  a  deadly  blow. 

Against  any  such  policy  I  am  unalterably  opposed. 

Bimetallism  cannot  be  secured  by  independent 
action  on  our  part.  It  cannot  be  obtained  by  opening 
our  mints  to  the  unlimited  coinage  of  the  silver  of  the 
world  at  a  ratio  of  16  ounces  of  silver  to  one  ounce  of 
gold  when  the  commercial  ratio  is  more  than  thirty 
ounces  of  silver  to  one  ounce  of  gold. 

Mexico  and  China  have  tried  the  experiment. 
Mexico  has  free  coinage  of  silver  and  gold  at  a  ratio 
slightly  in  excess  of  sixteen  and  a  half  ounces  of  sil- 
ver to  one  ounce  of  gold,  and  while  her  mints  are 
freely  open  to  both  metals  at  that  ratio,  not  a  single 
dollar  in  gold  bullion  is  coined  and  circulated  as 
money. 

Gold  has  been  driven  out  of  circulation  in  these 
countries  and  they  are  on  a  silver  basis  alone. 


S78  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

Until  international  agreement  is  had,  it  is  the  plain 
duty  of  the  United  States  to  maintain  the  gold  stand- 
ard. It  is  the  recognized  and  sole  standard  of  the 
great  commercial  nations  of  the  world,  with  which 
we  trade  more  largely  than  any  other. 

Eighty-four  per  cent,  of  our  foreign  trade  for  the 
fiscal  year  1895  was  with  gold  standard  countries  and 
our  trade  with  other  countries  was  settled  on  a  gold 
basis. 

Chiefly  by  means  of  legislation  during  and  since 
1878  there  has  been  put  in  circulation  more  than 
$624,000,000  of  silver  or  its  representative.  This 
has  been  done  in  the  honest  effort  to  give  to  silver,  if 
possible,  the  same  bullion  and  coinage  value,  and 
encourage  the  concurrent  use  of  both  gold  and  silver 
as  money.  Prior  to  that  time  there  had  been  less 
than  9,000,000  of  silver  dollars  coined  in  the  entire 
history  of  the  United  States,  a  period  of  eighty-nine 
years. 

This  legislation  secures  the  largest  use  of  silver 
consistent  with  financial  safety  and  the  pledge  to 
maintain  its  party  with  gold.  We  have  to-day  more 
silver  than  gold.  This  has  been  accomplished  at 
times  with  grave  peril  to  the  public  credit. 

The  so-called  Sherman  law  sought  to  use  all  the 
silver  product  of  the  United  States  for  money  at  its 
market  value.  From  1890  to  1893  the  Government 
purchased  4,500,000  ounces  a  year.  This  was  one- 
third  of  the  product  of  the  world  and  practically  all 
of  this  country's  product. 


McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  379 

It  was  believed  by  those  who  then  and  now  favor 
free  coinage  that  such  use  of  silver  would  advance  its 
bullion  value  to  its  coinage  value,  but  this  expectation 
was  not  realized.  In  a  few  months,  notwithstanding 
the  unprecedented  market  for  the  silver  produced  in 
the  United  States,  the  price  of  silver  went  down  very 
rapidly,  reaching  a  lower  point  than  ever  before. 

Then,  upon  the  recommendation  of  President  Cleve- 
land, both  political  parties  united  in  the  repeal  of  the 
purchasing  clause  of  the  Sherman  law.  We  cannot 
with  safety  engage  in  further  experiments  in  this 
direction. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  1891,  in  a  public  address,  I 
said  :  "  If  we  could  have  an  international  ratio,  which 
all  the  leading  nations  of  the  world  would  adopt,  and 
the  true  relation  be  fixed  between  the  two  metals, 
and  all  agree  upon  the  quantity  of  silver  which 
should  constitute  a  dollar,  then  silver  would  be  as 
free  and  unlimited  in  its  privileges  of  coinage  as  gold 
is  to-day. 

But  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  secure,  and  with 
the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  adopted  in 
the  United  States  at  the  present  ratio  we  would  be 
still  further  removed  from  any  international  agree- 
ment. We  may  never  be  able  to  secure  it  if  we  enter 
upon  the  isolated  coinage  of  silver. 

The  double  standard  implies  equality  at  a  ratio, 
and  that  equality  can  only  be  established  by  the  con- 
current law  of  nations.  It  was  the  concurrent  law 
of  nations  that  made  the  double  standard;  it  will  re- 


380  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

quire  the  concurrent  law  of  nations  to  reinstate  and 
sustain  it. 

The  Kepublican  party  has  not  been,  and  is  not 
now,  opposed  to  the  use  of  silver  money,  as  its  record 
abundantly  shows.  It  has  done  all  that  could  be 
done  for  its  increased  use  with  safety  and  honor  by 
the  United  States  acting  apart  from  other  govern- 
ments. There  are  those  who  think  that  it  has  al- 
ready gone  beyond  the  limit  of  financial  prudence. 
Surely  we  can  go  no  further,  and  we  must  not  permit 
false  lights  to  lure  us  across  the  danger  line. 

We  have  much  more  silver  in  use  than  any  country 
in  the  world,  except  India  or  China ;  $500,000,000 
more  than  Great  Britain ;  $150,000,000  more  than 
France;  $400,000,000  more  than  Germany;  $325,- 
000,000  less  than  India,  and  $125,000,000  less  than 
China. 

The  Kepublican  party  has  declared  in  favor  of  an 
international  agreement,  and  if  elected  President  it 
will  be  my  duty  to  employ  all,  proper  means  to  pro- 
mote it. 

The  free  coinage  of  silver  in  this  country  would 
defer,  if  not  defeat,  international  bimetallism,  and 
until  an  international  agreement  can  be  had  every 
interest  requires  us  to  maintain  our  present  standard. 

Independent  free  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  six- 
teen ounces  of  silver  to  one  ounce  of  gold  would  in- 
sure the  speedy  contraction  of  the  volume  of  our  cur- 
rency. It  would  drive  at  least  five  hundred  millions 
of  gold  dollars,  which  we  now  have,  permanently 


HON.  WILLIAM   P.  FEYE. 


8.  P.  DOLE,  EX-PRESIDENT  HAWAIIAN  REPUBLIC. 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  383 

from  the  trade  of  the  country  and  greatly  decrease 
our  per  capita  circulation. 

It  is  not  proposed  by  the  Republican  party  to  take 
from  the  circulating  medium  of  the  country  any  of 
the  silver  we  now  have.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  pro- 
posed to  keep  all  of  the  silver  money  now  in  circula- 
tion on  a  parity  with  gold  by  maintaining  the  pledge 
of  the  Government  that  all  of  it  shall  be  equal  to 
gold. 

This  has  been  the  unbroken  policy  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  since  1878.  It  has  inaugurated  no  new 
policy.  It  will  keep  in  circulation  and  as  good  as 
gold  all  of  the  silver  and  paper  money  which  is  now 
included  in  the  currency  of  the  country.  It  will 
maintain  their  parity.  It  will  preserve  their  equality 
in  the  futute,  as  it  has  always  done  in  the  past.  It 
will  not  consent  to  put  this  country  on  a  silver  basis, 
which  would  inevitably  follow  independent  free  coin- 
age at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one.  It  will  oppose  the 
expulsion  of  gold  from  our  circulation. 

If  there  is  any  one  thing  which  should  be  free 
from  speculation  and  fluctuation  it  is  the  money  of  a 
country.  It  ought  never  to  be  the  subject  of  mere 
partisan  contention. 

When  we  part  with  our  labor,  our  products,  or  our 
property,  we  should  receive  in  return  money  which 
is  as  stable  and  unchanging  in  value  as  the  ingenuity 
of  honest  men  can  make  it.  Debasement  of  the  cur- 
rency means  destruction  of  values. 

No  one  suffers  so  much  from  cheap  money  as  the 


384  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

farmers  and  laborers.  They  are  the  first  to  feel  its 
bad  effects,  and  the  last  to  recover  from  them.  This 
has  been  the  uniform  experience  of  all  countries,  and 
here,  as  elsewhere,  the  poor,  and  not  the  rich,  are 
always  the  greatest  sufferers  from  every  attempt  to 
debase  our  money. 

It  would  fall  with  alarming  severity  upon  invest- 
ments already  made ;  upon  insurance  companies  and 
their  policy  holders;  upon  savings  banks  and  their 
depositors;  upon  building  and  loan  associations  and 
their  members;  upon  the  savings  of  thrift;  upon 
pensioners  and  their  families,  and  upon  wage-earners 
and  the  purchasing  power  of  their  wages. 

The  silver  question  is  not  the  only  issue  affecting 
our  money  in  the  pending  contest.  Not  content  with 
urging  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  its  strongest  cham- 
pions demand  that  our  paper  money  shall  be  issued 
directly  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

This  is  the  Chicago  Democratic  declaration.  The 
St.  Louis  People's  declaration  is  that  "  our  national 
money  shall  be  issued  by  the  General  Government 
only,  without  the  intervention  of  banks  of  issue,  be 
full  legal  tender  for  the  payment  of  all  debts,  public 
and  private,"  and  be  distributed  "  direct  to  the  people 
and  through  lawful  disbursements  of  the  Govern- 
ment.'* 

Thus,  in  addition  to  the  free  coinage  of  the  world's 
silver,  we  are  asked  to  enter  upon  an  era  of  unlimited 
irredeemable  paper  currency.  The  question  which 
was  fought  out  from  1865  to  1879  is  thus  to  be  re- 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  385 

opened,  with  all  its  uncertainties  and  cheap  money 
experiments  of  every  conceivable  form  foisted  upon  us. 

This  indicates  a  most  startling  reactionary  policy, 
strangely  at  variance  with  every  requirement  of  sound 
finance;  but  the  declaration  shows  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  those  who  by  combined  action  are  contend- 
ing for  the  control  of  the  Government. 

Not  satisfied  with  the  debasement  of  our  coin  which 
would  inevitably  follow  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at 
16  to  1,  they  would  still  further  degrade  our  currency 
and  threaten  the  public  honor  by  the  unlimited  issue 
of  an  irredeemable  paper  currency. 

A  graver  manace  to  our  financial  standing  and 
credit  could  hardly  be  conceived  and  every  patriotic 
citizen  should  be  aroused  to  promptly  meet  and  effec- 
tually defeat  it. 

It  is  a  cause  for  painful  regret  and  solicitude  that 
an  effort  is  being  made  by  those  high  in  the  counsels 
of  the  allied  parties  to  divide  the  people  of  this 
country  into  classes  and  create  distinctions  among  us, 
which,  in  fact,  do  not  exist  and  are  repugnant  to  our 
form  of  government. 

These  appeals  to  passion  and  prejudice  are  beneath 
the  spirit  and  intelligence  of  a  free  people,  ancf 
should  be  met  with  stern  rebuke  by  those  they  are 
sought  to  influence,  and  I  believe  they  will  be.  Every 
attempt  to  array  class  against  class,  "  the  classes 
against  the  masses,"  section  against  section,  l-abor 
against  capital,  "  the  poor  against  the  rich,"  or  ir  Merest 


386  McKINLETS  ACCEPTANCE 

against  interest  in  the  United  States  is  in  the  highest 
degree  reprehensible. 

It  is  opposed  to  the  national  instinct  and  interest, 
and  should  be  resisted  by  every  citizen.  We  are  not 
a  nation  of  classes,  but  of  sturdy,  free,  independent 
and  honorable  people,  despising  the  demagogue,  and 
never  capitulating  to  dishonor. 

This  ever-recurring  effort  endangers  popular  govern- 
ment and  is  a  menace  to  our  liberties.  It  is  not  a 
new  campaign  device  or  party  appeal.  It  is  as  old 
as  government  among  men,  but  was  never  more  un- 
timely and  unfortunate  than  now. 

Washington  warned  us  against  it,  and  Webster  said 
in  the  Senate,  in  words  which  I  feel  are  singularly 
appropriate  at  this  time :  "  I  admonish  the  people 
against  the  object  of  outcries  like  these.  I  admonish 
every  industrious  laborer  of  this  country  to  be  on  his 
guard  against  such  delusion.  I  tell  him  the  attempt 
is  to  play  off  his  passion  against  his  interest,  and  to 
prevail  on  him,  in  the  name  of  liberty,  to  destroy  all 
the  fruits  of  liberty." 

Another  issue  of  supreme  importance  is  that  of 
protection.  The  peril  of  free  silver  is  a  menace  to  be 
feared ;  we  are  already  experiencing  the  effect  of  par- 
tial free  trade.  The  one  must  be  averted ;  the  other 
corrected. 

The  Republican  party  is  wedded  to  the  doctrine  of 
protection  and  was  never  more  earnest  in  its  support 
and  advocacy  than  now.  If  argument  were  needed 
to  strengthen  its  devotion  to  "  the  American  System," 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  387 

or  increase  the  hold  of  that  system  upon  the  party 
and  people,  it  is  found  in  the  lesson  and  experience 
of  the  past  three  years. 

Men  realize  in  their  own  daily  lives  what  before 
was  to  many  of  them  only  report,  history  or  tradition. 
They  have  had  a  trial  of  both  systems  and  know  what 
each  has  done  for  them. 

Washington,  in  his  Farewell  Address,  September 
17,  1796,  100  years  ago,  said  :  "As  a  very  important 
source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish  puplic  credit. 
One  method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use  it  as  sparingly 
as  possible;  avoiding  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not 
only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigor- 
ous exertions  in  time  of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts 
which  unaviodable  wars  may  have  occasioned,  not 
ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burden 
which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear." 

To  facilitate  the  enforcement  of  the  maxims  which 
he  announced  he  declared  :  "  It  is  essential  that  you 
should  practically  bear  in  mind  that  toward  the  pay- 
ment of  debts  there  must  be  revenue ;  that  to  have 
revenue  there  must  be  taxes ;  that  no  taxes  can  be 
devised  which  are  not  more  or  less  inconvenient  or 
unpleasant ;  that  the  intrinsic  embarrassment  insepar- 
able from  *he  selection  of  the  proper  objects  (which 
is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties)  ought  to  be  a  decisive 
motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Government  in  making  it ;  and  for  a  spirit  of  acquies- 
cence in  the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue  which 
public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate." 


388  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

Animated  by  like  sentiments,  the  people  of  the 
country  must  now  face  the  conditions  which  beset 
them.  "  The  public  exigencies  "  demand  prompt  pro- 
tective legislation,  which  will  avoid  the  accumulation 
of  further  debt  by  providing  adequate  revenues  for 
the  expenses  of  the  Government. 

This  is  manifestly  the  requirement  of  duty.  If 
elected  President  of  the  United  States,  it  will  be  my 
aim  to  vigorously  promote  this  object  and  give  that 
ample  encouragement  to  the  occupations  of  the  Amer- 
ican people,  which,  above  all  else,  is  so  imperatively 
demanded  at  this  juncture  of  our  national  affairs. 

In  December,  1892,  President  Harrison  sent  his 
last  message  to  Congress.  It  was  an  able  and  ex- 
haustive review  of  the  condition  and  resources  of  the 
country.  It  stated  our  situation  so  accurately  that  I 
am  sure  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  recite  his  official  and 
valuable  testimony. 

"  There  never  has  been  a  time  in  our  history,"  said 
he,  "when  work  was  so  abundant,  or  when  wages 
were  so  high,  whether  measured  by  the  currency  in 
which  they  are  paid  or  by  their  power  to  supply  the 
necessaries  and  comforts  of  life.  The  general  average 
of  prices  has  been  such  as  to  give  to  agriculture  a  fair 
participation  in  the  general  prosperity.  The  new 
industrial  plants  established  since  October  6,  1890, 
and  up  to  October  22,- 1892,  number  345,  and  the  ex- 
tension of  existing  plants,  108.  The  new  capital  in- 
vested amounts  to  $40,446,060,  and  the  number  of 
additional  employees,  37,285. 


McKINLEY'S  .UVKl'TAXCE  309 

"  During  the  first  six  months  of  the  present  calendar 
year  135  new  factories  were  built,  of  which  40  were 
cotton  mills,  48  knitting  mills,  26  woolen  mills,  15 
silk  mills,  4  plush  mills  and  2  linen  mills.  Of  the 
forty  cotton  mills  21  have  been  built  in  the  Southern 
States." 

This  fairly  describes  the  happy  condition  of  the 
country  in  December,  1893.  What  has  it  been  since, 
and  what  is  it  now? 

The  messages  of  President  Cleveland  from  the  be- 
ginning of  his  second  administration  to  the  present 
time  abound  with  descriptions  of  the  deplorable  indus- 
trial and  financial  situation  of  the  country.  While 
no  resort  to  history  or  official  statement  is  required 
to  advise  us  of  the  present  condition  and  that  which 
has  prevailed  during  the  past  three  years,  I  venture 
to  quote  from  President  Cleveland's  first  message, 
August  3, 1893,  addressed  to  the  Fifty-third  Congress, 
which  he  had  called  together  in  extraordinary  session. 

"  The  existence  of  an  alarming  and  extraordinary 
business  situation,"  said  he,  "involving  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of  all  our  people  has  constrained  me 
to  call  together  in  extra  session  the  people's  repre- 
sentatives in  Congress,  to  the  end  that  through  the 
wise  and  patriotic  exercise  of  the  legislstive  duties 
with  which  they  solely  are  charged,  the  present  evils 
may  by  mitigated  and  dangers  threatening  the  future 
averted. 

"  Our  unfortunate  financial  plight  is  not  the  result 
of  untoward  events,  nor  of  conditions  related  to  our 


390  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

natural  resources.  Nor  is  it  traceable  to  any  of  the 
afflictions  which  frequently  check  national  growth 
and  prosperity. 

"  With  plenteous  crops,  with  abundant  promise  of 
remunerative  production  and  manufacture,  with  un- 
usual invitation  to  safe  investment,  and  with  satis- 
factory assurances  to  business  enterprises,  suddenly 
financial  distrust  and  fear  have  sprung  up  on  every 
side. 

"  Numerous  monied  institutions  have  suspended 
because  abundant  assets  were  not  immediately  avail- 
able to  meet  the  demands  of  frightened  depositors. 
Surviving  corporations  and  individuals  are  content  to 
keep  in  hand  the  money  they  are  usually  anxious  to 
loan  and  those  engaged  in  legitimate  business  are 
surprised  to  find  that  the  securities  they  offer  for 
loans,  though  heretofore  satisfactory,  are  no  longer 
accepted. 

"  Values,  supposed  to  be  fixed,  are  fast  becoming 
conjectural  and  loss  and  failure  have  invaded  every 
branch  of  business." 

What  a  startling  and  sudden  change  within  the 
short  period  of  eight  months,  from  December,  1892  to 
August,  1893 ! 

What  had  occurred  ?  A  change  of  administration  ; 
all  branches  of  the  Government  had  been  entrusted 
to  the  Democratic  party,  which  was  committed  against 
the  protective  policy  that  had  prevailed  uninterupt- 
edly  for  more  than  thirty-two  years  and  brought 
unexampled  prosperity  to  the  country  and  firmly 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  391 

pledged  to  its  complete  overthrow  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only.  The  change  having 
been  decreed  by  the  elections  in  November,  its  effects 
were'at  once  anticipated  and  felt. 

We  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  these  altered  condi- 
tions, nor  would  it  be  wise  to  exclude  from  contem- 
plation and  investigation  the  causes  which  produced 
them.  , 

They  are  facts  which  we  cannot  as  a  people  dis- 
regard, and  we  can  only  hope  to  improve  our  present 
condition  by  a  study  of  their  causes.  In  December, 
1892,  we  had  the  same  currency  and  practically  the 
same  volume  of  currency  that  we  have  now.  It  ag- 
gregated in  1892,  $2,372,599,501 ;  in  1893,  $2,323,- 
000,000 ;  in  1894,  $2,323,442,362,  and  in  December, 
1895,  $2,194,000,230. 

The  per  capita  of  money  has  been  practically  the 
same  during  this  whole  period.  The  quality  of  the 
money  has  been  identical — -.all  kept  equal  to  gold. 
There  is  nothing  connected  with  our  money,  there- 
fore, to  account  for  this  sudden  and  aggravated  indus- 
trial change.  Whatever  is  to  be  depreciated  in  our 
financial  system  it  must  everywhere  be  admitted  that 
our  money  has  been  absolutely  good  and  brought 
neither  loss  nor  inconvenience  to  its  holders.  A  de- 
preciated currency  has  not  existed  to  further  vex  the 
troubled  business  situation. 

It  is  a  mere  pretence  to  attribute  the  hard  times  to 
the  fact  that  all  our  currency  is  on  a  gold  basis.  Good 
money  never  made  times  hard.  Those  who  assert 


392  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

that  our  present  industrial  and  financial  depression  is 
the  result  of  the  gold  standard  have  not  read  Amer- 
ican history  aright  or  been  careful  students  of  the 
events  of  recent  years. 

We  never  had  greater  prosperity  in  this  country, 
in  every  field  of  employment  and  industry,  than  in 
the  busy  years  from  1880  to  1892,  during  all  of  whicfo 
time  this  country  was  on  a  gold  basis  and  employed 
more  gold  money  in  its  fiscal  and  business  operations 
than  ever  before.  We  had,  too,  a  protective  tariff, 
under  which  ample  revenues  were  collected  for  the 
Government  and  an  accumulating  surplus  which  was 
constantly  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt. 

Let  us  hold  fast  to  that  which  we  know  is  good. 
It  is  not  more  money  we  want ;  what  we  want  is  to 
put  the  money  we  already  have  at  work.  When 
money  is  employed  men  are  employed.  Both  have 
always  been  steadily  and  remuneratively  engaged 
during  all  the  years  of  protective  tariff  legislation. 

When  those  who  have  money  lack  confidence  IP 
the  stability  of  values  and  investments  they  will  not 
part  with  their  money.  Business  is  stagnated — th* 
life-blood  of  trade  is  checked  and  congested.  We  can- 
not restore  public  confidence  by  an  act  which  would 
revolutionize  all  values  or  an  act  which  entails  a  de- 
ficiency in  the  public  revenues. 

We  cannot  inspire  confidence  by  advocating  repu- 
diation or  practicing  dishonesty.     We  cannot  restore 
confidence  either  to  the  Treasury  or  to  the  people  with 
out  a  change  in  our  present  tariff  legislation. 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  393 

The  only  measure  of  a  general  nature  that  affected 
the  Treasury  and  temperaments  of  our  people  passed 
by  the  Fifty-third  Congress  was  the  general  tariff  act, 
which  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  the  President. 
Whatever  virtues  may  be  claimed  for  that  act  there 
is  confessedly  one  which  it  does  not  possess. 

It  lacks  the  essential  virtue  of  its  creation — the 
raising  of  revenue  sufficient  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
Government.  It  has  at  no  time  provided  enough 
revenue  for  such  needs,  but  it  has  caused  a  constant 
deficiency  in  the  Treasury  and  a  steady  depletion  in 
the  earnings  of  labor  and  land. 

It  has  contributed  to  swell  our  national  debt  more 
than  $262,000,000,  a  sum  nearly  as  great  as  the  debt 
of  the  Government  from  Washington  to  Lincoln,  in- 
cluding all  our  foreign  wars  from  the  Revolution  to 
the  Rebellion. 

Since  its  passage  work  at  home  has  been  dimin- 
ished; prices  of  agricultural  products  have  fallen, 
confidence  has  been  arrested  and  general  business  de- 
moralization is  seen  on  every  hand. 

The  total  receipts  under  the  tariff  act  of  1894  for 
the  first  twenty-two  months  of  its  enforcement,  from 
September,  1894,  to  June,  1896,  were  $557,615,328, 
and  the  expenditures,  $640,418,363,  or  a  deficiency 
of  $82,803,035. 

The  decrease  in  our  exports  of  American  products 
and  manufactures  during  the  first  fifteen  months  of 
the  present  tariff,  as  contrasted  with  the  exports  of 


394  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

the  first  fifteen  months  of  the  tariff  of  1890,  was 
353,320. 

The  excess  of  exports  over  imports  during  the  first 
fifteen  months  of  the  tariff  of  1890,  was  $213,972,- 
968,  but  only  $56,758,623  under  the  first  fifteen 
months  of  the  tariff  of  1894,  a  loss  under  the  latter 
of  $157,214,345. 

The  net  loss  in  the  trade  balance  of  the  United 
States  has  been  $196,983,607  during  the  first  fifteen 
months'  operation  of  the  tariff  of  1894,  as  compared 
with  the  first  fifteen  months  of  the  tariff  of  1890. 

The  loss  has  been  large,  constant  and  steady,  at 
the  rate  of  $13,130,000  per  month,  of  $500,000  for 
every  business  day  of  the  year. 

We  have  either  been  sending  too  much  money  out 
of  the  country  or  getting  too  little  in,  or  both.  We 
have  lost  steadily  in  both  directions.  Our  foreign 
trade  has  been  diminished  and  our  domestic  trade  has 
suffered  incalculable  loss. 

Does  not  this  suggest  the  cause  of  our  present  de- 
pression and  indicate  its  remedy?  Confidence  in 
home  enterprises  has  almost  wholly  disappeared.  Our 
shops  are  closed,  or  running  at  half  time  at  reduced 
wages  and  small  profit,  if  not  actual  loss. 

Our  men  at  home  are  idle,  and  while  they  are  idle 
men  abroad  are  occupied  in  supplying  us  with  goods. 
Our  unrivaled  home  market  for  the  farmer  has  also 
greatly  suffered,  because  those  who  constitute  it — the 
great  army  of  American  wage-earners — are  without 
the  work  and  wages  they  formerly  had.  If  they  can- 


McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  395 

not  earn  wages,  they  cannot  buy  products.  They  can- 
not earn  if  they  have  no  employment  and  when  they 
do  not  earn  the  farmers'  home  market  is  lessened  and 
impaired,  and  the  loss  is  felt  by  both  producer  and 
consumer. 

The  loss  of  earning  power  alone  in  this  country  in 
the  past  three  years  is  sufficient  to  have  produced  our 
unfortunate  business  situation.  If  our  labor  was  well 
employed  and  employed  at  as  remunerative  wages  as 
in  1892,  in  a  few  months  every  farmer  in  the  land 
would  feel  the  glad  change  in  the  increased  demand 
for  his  products  and  in  the  better  prices  which  he 
would  receive. 

It  is  not  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  money  which 
is  the  need  of  the  time,  but  an  increase  of  the  volume 
of  business ;  not  an  increase  of  coin,  but  an  increase 
of  confidence ;  not  more  coinage,  but  a  more  active 
use  of  the  money  coined ;  not  open  mints  for  the  un- 
limited coinage  of  the  silver  of  the  world,  but  open 
mills  for  the  full  and  unrestricted  labor  of  American 
workingmen. 

The  employment  of  our  mints  for  the  coinage  of 
the  silver  of  the  world  would  not  bring  the  neces- 
saries and  comforts  of  life  back  to  our  people.  This 
will  only  come  with  the  employment  of  the  masses, 
and  such  employment  is  certain  to  follow  the  re- 
establishment  of  a  wise  protective  policy  which  shall 
encourage  manufacturing  at  home. 

Protection  has  lost  none  of  its  virtue  and  impor- 
tance. The  first  duty  of  the  Republican  party,  if 


336  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

restored  to  power  in  the  country,  will  be  the  enact- 
ment of  a  tariff  law  which  will  raise  all  the  money 
necessary  to  conduct  the  Government,  economically 
and  honestly  administered,  and  so  adjusted  as  to  give 
preference  to  home  manufactures  and  adequate  pro- 
tection to  home  labor  and  the  home  market. 

We  are  not  committed  to  any  special  schedules  or 
rates  of  duty.  They  are,  and  should  be,  always  sub- 
ject to  change  to  meet  new  conditions,  but  the  prin- 
ciple upon  which  rates  of  duty  are  imposed  remains 
the  same.  Our  duties  should  always  be  high  enough 
to  measure  the  difference  between  the  wages  paid 
labor  at  home  and  in  competing  countries,  and  to 
adequately  protect  American  investments  and  Ameri- 
can enterprises. 

Our  farmers  have  been  hurt  by  the  changes  in  our 
tariff  legislation  as  severely  as  our  laborers  and  manu- 
facturers, badly  as  they  have  suffered. 

The  Republican  platform  declares  in  favor  of  such 
encouragement  to  our  sugar  interests  "  as  will  lead 
to  the  production  on  American  soil  of  all  the  sugar 
which  the  American  people  use." 

It  promises  to  our  wool  and  woolen  interests  the 
"  most  ample  protection,"  a  guaranty  that  ought  to 
commend  itself  to  every  patriotic  citizen.  Never 
was  a  more  grievous  wrong  done  the  farmers  of  our 
country  than  that  so  unjustly  inflicted  during  the 
past  three  years  upon  the  wool  growers  of  America. 
Although  among  our  most  industrious  and  useful 
citizens,  their  interests  have  been  practically  de- 


McKIXLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  :5!'7 

stroyed  and  our  woolen  affairs  involved  in  similai 
disaster. 

At  no  time  within  the  past  thirty-six  years,  and, 
perhaps,  never  during  any  previous  period,  have  so 
many  of  our  woolen  factories  been  suspended  as  now. 
The  Republican  party  can  be  relied  upon  to  correct 
these  great  wrongs  if  again  entrusted  with  the  con- 
trol of  Congress. 

Another  declaration  of  the  Republican  platform 
that  has  my  most  cordial  support  is  that  which  favors 
reciprocity.  The  splendid  results  of  the  reciprocity 
arrangements  that  were  made  under  authority  of  the 
tariff  law  of  1890  are  striking  suggestives. 

The  brief  period  they  were  in  force,  in  most  cases 
only  three  years,  was  not  long  enough  to  thoroughly 
test  their  great  values,  but  sufficient  was  shown  by 
the  trial  to  conclusively  demonstrate  the  importance 
and  the  wisdom  of  their  adoption. 

In  1892  the  export  trade  of  the  United  States 
attained  the  highest  point  in  our  history.  The  aggre- 
gate of  our  exports  that  year  reached  the  immense 
sum  of  $1,030,278,148,  a  sum  greater  by  $100,000,- 
000  than  the  exports  of  any  previous  year. 

In  1893,  owing  to  the  threat  of  unfriendly  tariff 
legislation,  the  total  dropped  to  $847,665,194.  Our 
exports  of  domestic  merchandise  decreased  $189,000,- 
000,  but  reciprocity  still  secured  us  a  large  trade  in 
Central  and  South  America,  and  a  larger  trade  with 
the  West  Indies  than  we  had  ever  before  enjoyed. 

The   increase   of  trade   with   the   countries  with 


398  McKItfLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

which  we  had  reciprocity  agreements  was  $3,560,515 
over  our  trade  in  1892,  and  $16,440,721  over  our 
trade  in  1891.  The  only  countries  with  which  the 
United  States  traded  that  showed  increased  exports 
in  1893  were  practically  those  with  which  we  had 
reciprocity  arrangements. 

The  reciprocity  treaty  between  this  country  and 
Spain,  touching  the  markets  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico, 
was  announced  September  1,  1891.  The  growth  of 
our  trade  with  Cuba  was  phenomenal.  In  1891  we 
sold  that  country  but  114,441  barrels  of  flour ;  in 
1892,  366,175;  in  1893,  616,406;  and  in  1894, 
622,248. 

Here  was  a  growth  of  nearly  500  per  cent,  while 
our  exportations  of  flour  to  Cuba  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1895 — the  year  following  the  repeal  of  the 
reciprocity  treaty — fell  to  379,896  barrels,  a  loss  of 
nearly  half  our  trade  with  that  country. 

The  value  of  our  total  exports  of  merchandise  from 
the  United  States  to  Cuba  in  1891 — the  year  prior  to 
the  negotiation  of  the  reciprocity  treaty — was  $12,- 
224,888;  in  1892,  $17,953,579;  in  1893,  $24,157,- 
698;  in  1894,  $20,125,321,  but  in  1895,  after  the 
annulment  of  the  reciprocity  agreement,  it  fell  to  only 
$12,887,661. 

Many  similar  examples  might  be  given  of  our  in- 
creased trade  under  reciprocity  with  other  countries, 
but  enough  has  been  shown  of  the  efficacy  of  the 
legislation  of  1890  to  justify  the  speedy  restoration 
of  its  reciprocity  provisions. 


MURAT  HALSTEAIX 


THE    PRESIDENT    AND   HIS  CABINET. 
(Photo  of  Long  Copyrighted  1897  by  Purdy  of  Boston.) 
(Photo  of  McKinley  Copyrighted  by  Elmer  Chickering,) 
fPboto  of  Smith  Copyrighted  by  Rockwood.) 


McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  401 

In  my  judgment,  Congress  should  immediately  re- 
store the  reciprocity  section  of  the  old  law  with  such 
amendments,  if  any,  as  time  and  experience  sanction 
as  wise  and  proper. 

The  underlying  principle  of  this  legislation  must, 
however,  be  strictly  observed.  It  is  to  afford  new 
markets  for  our  surplus  agricultural  and  manufac- 
tured products  without  loss  to  the  American  laborer 
of  a  single  day's  work  that  he  might  otherwise  procure. 

The  declaration  of  the  platform  touching  foreign 
immigration  is  one  of  peculiar  importance  at  this  time, 
when  our  own  laboring  people  are  in  such  distress. 
I  am  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  present  legislation 
restricting  foreign  immigration  and  favor  such  exten- 
sion of  the  laws  as  will  secure  the  United  States  from 
invasion  by  the  debased  and  criminal  classes  of  the 
Old  World. 

While  we  adhere  to  the  public  policy  under  which 
our  country  has  received  great  bodies  of  honest,  in- 
dustrious citizens,  who  have  added  to  the  wealth,  pro- 
gress and  power  of  the  country,  and  while  we  wel- 
come to  our  shores  the  well-disposed  and  industrious 
immigrant  who  contributes  by  his  energy  and  intelli- 
gence to  the  cause  of  free  government,  we  want  no 
immigrants  who  do  not  seek  our  shores  to  become 
citizens. 

We  should  permit  none  to  participate  in  the  ad- 
vantages of  our  civilization  who  does  not  sympathize 
with  our  aims  and  form  of  government.  We  should 
receive  none  who  comes  to  make  war  upon  our  institu- 


402  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

tions  and  profit  by  public  disquiet  and  turmoil. 
Against  all  such  our  gates  must  be  tightly  closed. 

The  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Union  should  neither 
be  neglected  nor  forgotten.  The  Government  which 
they  served  so  well  must  not  make  their  lives  or  con- 
dition harder  by  treating  them  as  suppliants  for  relief 
in  old  age  or  distress,  nor  regard  with  disdain  or  con- 
tempt the  earnest  interest  one  comrade  naturally 
manifests  in  the  welfare  of  another. 

Doubtless  there  have  been  pension  abuses  and 
frauds  in  the  numerous  claims  allowed  by  the  Govern- 
ment, but  the  policy  governing  the  administration  of 
the  Pension  Bureau  must  always  be  fair  and  liberal. 
No  deserving  applicant  should  ever  suffer  because  of 
a  wrong  perpetrated  by  or  for  another. 

Our  soldiers  and  sailors  gave  the  Government  the 
best  they  had.  They  freely  offered  health,  strength, 
limb  and  life  to  save  the  country  in  the  time  of  its 
greatest  peril,  and  the  Government  must  honor  them 
in  their  need  as  in  their  service  with  the  respect  and 
gratitude  due  to  brave,  noble  and  self-sacrificing  men 
who  are  justly  entitled  to  generous  aid  in  their  in- 
creasing necessities. 

The  declaration  of  the  Republican  platform  in  favor 
of  the  upbuilding  of  our  merchant  marine  has  my 
hearty  approval.  The  policy  of  discriminating  duties 
in  favor  of  our  shipping,  which  prevailed  in  the  early 
years  of  our  history,  should  be  again  adopted  by  Con- 
gress and  vigorously  supported  until  our  prestige  and 
supremacy  on  the  seas  is  fully  attained. 


McKENLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE  403 

We  should  no  longer  contribute  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  the  maintenance  of  the  colossal  marine  of 
foreign  countries,  but  provide  an  efficient  and  com- 
plete marine  of  our  own. 

Now  that  the  American  navy  is  assuming  a  position 
commensurate  with  our  importance  as  a  nation,  a 
policy  I  am  glad  to  observe  the  Republican  platform 
strongly  indorses,  we  must  supplement  it  with  a  mer- 
chant marine  that  will  give  us  the  advantages,  in  both 
our  coastwise  and  foreign  trade  that  we  ought  natu- 
rally and  properly  to  enjoy. 

It  should  be  at  once  a  matter  of  public  policy  and 
national  pride  to  repossess  this  immense  and  prosper- 
ous trade. 

The  pledge  of  the  Republican  National  Convention 
that  our  civil  service  laws  "  shall  be  sustained  and 
thoroughly  and  honestly  enforced  and  extended  wher- 
ever practicable  "  is  in  keeping  with  the  position  of 
the  party  for  the  past  twenty-four  years,  and  will  be 
faithfully  observed. 

Our  opponents  decry  these  reforms.  They  appear 
willing  to  abandon  all  the  advantages  gained  after  so 
many  years  of  agitation  and  effort.  They  encourage 
a  return  to  methods  of  party  favoritism  which  both 
parties  have  often  denounced,  that  experience  has 
condemned  and  that  the  people  have  repeatedly  dis- 
approved. 

The  Republican  party  earnestly  opposes  this  reac- 
tionary and  entirely  unjustifiable  policy.  It  will  take 


404  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

no  backward  step  upon  this  question.  It  will  seek  to 
improve  but  never  degrade  the  public  service. 

There  are  other  important  and  timely  declara- 
tions in  the  platform  which  I  cannot  here  discuss.  I 
must  content  myself  with  saying  that  they  have  my 
approval. 

If,  as  Republicans,  we  have  lately  addressed  our 
attention  with  what  may  seem  great  stress  and  earn- 
estness to  the  new  and  unexpected  assault  upon  the 
financial  integrity  of  the  Government,  we  have  done 
it  because  the  menace  is  so  grave  as  to  demand  espe- 
cial consideration,  and  because  we  are  convinced  that 
if  the  people  are  aroused  to  the  true  understanding 
and  meaning  of  this  silver  inflation  movement  they 
will  avert  the  danger. 

In  doing  this  we  feel  that  we  render  the  best  service 
possible  to  the  country,  and  we  appeal  to  the  intelli- 
gence, conscience  and  patriotism  of  the  people,  irre- 
spective of  party  or  section,  for  their  earnest  support. 

We  avoid  no  issues.  We  meet  the  sudden,  danger- 
ous and  revolutionary  assault  upon  law  and  order  and 
upon  those  to  whom  is  confided  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws  the  authority  to  uphold  and  maintain  them 
which  our  opponents  have  made  with  the  same  cour- 
age that  we  have  faced  every  emergency  since  our 
organization  as  a  party,  more  than  forty  years  ago. 

Government  by  law  must  first  be  assured ;  every- 
thing else  can  wait.  The  spirit  of  lawlessness  must 
be  extinguished  by  the  fires  of  an  unselfish  and  lofty 
patriotism. 


Mc-KIXLEY\S  ACCEPTANCE  405 

Every  attack  upon  the  public  faith  and  every  sug- 
gestion of  the  repudiation  of  debts,  public  or  private, 
must  be  rebuked  by  all  men  who  believe  that  honesty 
is  the  best  policy,  or  who  love  their  country  and 
would  preserve  unsullied  its  national  honor. 

The  country  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  almost 
total  obliteration  of  the  sectional  lines  which  for  many 
years  marked  the  division  of  the  United  States  into 
slave  and  free  territory  and  finally  threatened  its 
partition  into  two  separate  governments  by  the  dread 
ordeal  of  civil  war. 

The  era  of  reconciliation,  so  long  and  earnestly  de- 
sired by  General  Grant  and  many  other  great  leaders, 
North  and  South,  has  happily  come,  and  the  feeling 
of  distrust  and  hostility  between  the  sections  is  every- 
where vanishing,  let  us  hope  never  to  return. 

Nothing  is  better  calculated  to  give  strength  to  the 
nation  at  home  than  to  increase  our  influence  abroad 
and  add  to  the  permanency  and  security  of  our  free 
institutions  than  the  restoration  of  cordial  relations 
between  the  people  of  all  sections  and  parts  of  our 
beloved  country. 

If  called  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people  to  assume 
the  duties  of  the  high  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  I  shall  count  it  a  privilege  to  aid,  even  in  the 
slightest  degree,  in  the  promotion  of  the  spirit  of  frat- 
ernal regard  which  should  animate  and  govern  the 
citizens  of  every  section,  State  or  part  of  the  Republic. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  century  since  its  utterance,  let 
us,  at  length  and  forever  hereafter,  heed  the  admoni- 


406  McKINLEY'S  ACCEPTANCE 

tion  of  Washington,   "  There  snould  be  no  North,  no 
South,  no  East,  no  West,  but  a  common  country." 

It  shall  be  my  constant  aim  to  improve  every  op- 
portunity to  advance  the  cause  of  good  government 
by  promoting  that  spirit  of  forbearance  and  justice 
which  is  so  essential  to  our  prosperity  and  happiness 
by  joining  most  heartily  in  all  proper  efforts  to  restore 
the  relations  of  brotherly  respect  and  affection  which 
in  our  early  history  characterized  all  the  people  of  all 
the  States. 

I  would  be  glad  to  contribute  toward  binding  in 
indivisible  union  the  different  divisions  of  the  country, 
which,  indeed,  now  "  have  every  inducement  of  sym- 
pathy and  interest"  to  weld  them  together  more 
strongly  than  ever. 

I  would  rejoice  to  see  demonstrated  to  the  world 
that  the  North  and  the  South  and  the  East  and  the 
West  are  not  separated  or  in  danger  of  becoming 
separated  because  of  sectional  or  party  differences. 

The  war  is  long  since  over;  "we  are  not  enemies, 
but  friends,"  and  as  friends  we  will  faithfully  and 
cordially  co-operate,  under  the  approving  smile  of 
Him  who  has  thus  far  so  signally  sustained  and 
guided  us,  to  preserve  inviolate  our  country's  name 
and  honor,  of  its  peace  and  good  order,  of  its  con- 
tinued ascendancy  amongst  the  greatest  governments 
on  earth. 

WILLIAM  M'KINLEY. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

SALIENT   EXTRACTS   FROM    MAJOR   McKINLEY'S  ADDRESSES 
TO   REPRESENTATIVE    DELEGATIONS. 

EVEN  before  the  date  of  the  publication  of  his 
brilliant  letter  of  acceptance,  and  thence  on 
to  the  day  of  his  triumphant  election,  Major 
McKinley  was  called  upon  daily — almost  hourly — to 
address  various  visiting  delegations  upon  the  supreme 
issue  of  the  campaign.  His  speeches  were  always  to 
the  point,  pungent  in  phrase,  and  pregnant  with  fact. 
As  in  his  letter  of  acceptance,  so  in  his  speeches,  he 
multiplied  the  resources  of  the  campaign  for  sound 
money,  and  gave  convincing  arguments  for  an  honest 
standard  of  value. 

Three  days  prior  to  his  acceptance  of  the  nomina- 
tion, he  addressed  a  body  of  500  farmers,  and  made  an 
earnest  appeal  for  an  honest  currency.  In  the 
course  of  his  address  he  said : 

"Can  the  farmer  be  helped  by  free  coinage  of 
silver  ? 

"  He  cannot  be  helped  because  if  the  nominal  price 
of  grain  were  to  rise,  through  an  inflation  of  the 
currency,  the  price  of  everything  else  would  rise 


408  McKINLEY'S   ADDRESSES 

also,  arid  the  farmer  would  be  relatively  no  better 
off  than  he  was  before. 

"  He  would  not  get  any  more  real  value  for  his 
grain  than  he  gets  now,  and  would  suffer  from  the 
general  demoralization  which  would  follow  the  free 
coinage  of  silver.  You  cannot  help  the  farmer  by 
more  coinage  of  silver.  He  can  only  be  helped  by 
more  consumers  for  his  products.  You  cannot  help 
him  by  free  trade,  but,  as  I  have  shown,  he  can  be 
hurt,  and  seriously  hurt,  by  the  free  introduction  of 
competing  products  into  this  country. 

"  Better  a  thousand  times  enlarge  the  markets  for 
American  products  than  to  enlarge  the  mints  for  the 
silver  products  of  the  world.  You  might  just  as 
well  understand  now  that  you  cannot  add  value  to 
anything  by  diminishing  the  measure,  of  the  value 
with  which  the  thing  is  sold  or  exchanged. 

"  If  you  can  increase  the  value  by  lowering  the 
measure  of  value,  and  you  want  to  benefit  the 
farmer,  then  make  the  bushel  smaller,  the  pound 
lighter  and  declare  a  legal  dozen  less  than  twelve. 

"  The  home  market  is  the  best  friend  of  the  farmer. 
It  is  his  best  market.  It  is  his  only  reliable  market. 
It  is  his  own  natural  market. 

"  Prosperity  of  manufacturers  is  inseparable  from 
the  prosperity  of  agriculture.  Set  all  our  wheels  in 
motion,  set  all  our  spindles  whirling,  set  all  our  men 
at  work  on  full  time,  start  up  the  idle  workshops  of 
the  country,  bring  back  confidence  and  business,  and 
the  farmer  will  at  once  feel  the  influence  in  the 


McKINLEY'S   ADDKESSES  409 

greater  demand  for  his  products  and  in  the  better 
prices  he  would  receive.  When  the  farmer  has 
found  a  market  for  his  goods,  he  wants  his  pay  for 
what  he  sells  in  such  unquestioned  coin  that  he  will 
know  it  is  good  not  only  to-day,  but  will  be  certain 
to  be  good  every  day  of  the  year  and  in  all  countries 
of  the  world. 

"  Free  silver  will  not  cure  over-production  or  under- 
consumption. Free  silver  will  not  remove  the  com- 
petition of  Russia,  India  and  the  Argentine  Republic. 
This  competition  would  remain  if  you  would  coin  all 
the  silver  of  the  world.  Free  silver  will  not  increase 
the  demand  for  your  wheat  or  make  a  single  new  con- 
sumer. 

"  You  don't  get  consumers  through  the  mints.  You 
get  them  through  the  factories.  You  will  not  get 
them  by  increasing  the  circulation  of  money  in  the 
United  States.  You  will  only  get  them  by  increasing 
the  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  United 
States." 

Again,  he  said  to  the  Chicago  Commercial  M'Kinley 
Club  on  August  29th  :  "  If  there  is  one  kind  of  money 
that  is  good  in  every  civilized  world  and  another  that 
passes  in  only  some  parts  of  the  world,  the  people  of 
the  United  States  will  never  be  content  with  anything 
short  of  the  best. 

"  We  have  been  doing  business  on  that  basis  since 
January  1,  1879.  We  will  continue  that  policy  so 
long  as  we  have  a  just  regard  for  our  honest  obliga- 
tions and  high  standing  as  a  nation. 


410  McKINLEY'S    ADDHESSES 

"  Free  silver  at  a  ratio  of  16  to  1,  or  about  half  its 
true  bullion  value,  is  not  a  full  dollar.  Good  money 
never  made  times  hard.  And  poor  money  never 
made  times  good. 

"  My  fellow-citizens,  our  contest  this  year  is  for  the 
country's  honor  and  prosperity.  The  need  of  the 
hour  is  work  for  willing  hands,  work  and  wages  for 
the  unemployed  and  a  chance  to  earn  the  good  dollars 
which  are  now  idle  and  are  only  waiting  in  their  hid- 
ing places  for  a  restoration  of  confidence. 

"  Our  contest  is  for  the  good  faith  of  the  nation  and 
the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  we  can  proclaim  with 
confidence  the  same  supreme  faith  in  the  people  which 
upheld  Lincoln  in  every  trial  of  the  war.  As  he  said, 
'  Intelligence  and  patriotism  and  a  firm  reliance  in 
Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land  are 
still  competent  to  adjust  in  the  best  way  all  our  pre- 
sent difficulties.'  In  this  faith  we  submit  our  conten- 
tion to  the  great  tribunal  of  the  people." 

ANTE-ELECTION   SPEECHES. 

It  is  not  easy  to  comprise  within  the  compass  of 
this  volume  even  brief  extracts  from  a  few  of  the 
leading  ante-election  addresses  delivered  by  Major 
M'Kinley,  but  we  cull  the  following : 

To  the  Colored  Riflemen  of  Cleveland :  "  I  con- 
gratulate you,  gentlemen,  upon  the  splendid  progress 
that  your  race  has  made  since  emancipation.  You 
have  done  better,  you  have  advanced  more  rapidly 
than  it  was  believed  possible  at  that  time  :  you  have 


411 

improved  greatly  the  educational  advantages  wliich 
you  have  had.  Your  people  everywhere,  North  and 
South,  are  accumulating  property  and  to-day  you 
stand  as  among  the  most  conservative  of  the  citizens 
of  this  great  Republic. 

"  We  are  now  engaged  in  a  political  contest  and 
your  presence  in  such  vast  numbers  here  to-day 
evidence  the  interest  which  you  have  in  the  public 
questions  that  are  now  engaging  the  attention  of  the 
American  people.  We  have  a  great  country  and  we 
must  keep  it  great. 

"  The  post  which  the  United  States  must  occupy 
both  in  wages  and  industries,  and  in  the  integrity  of 
its  finances  and  currency,  must  be  at  the  head  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  To  that  place  of  honor  the 
people  of  the  country  must  restore  it  this  year.  They 
have  the  opportunity  that  they  have  wished  for  since 
1892.  Will  they  meet  it  this  year  ? 

"  We  want  in  the  United  States  neither  cheap 
money  nor  cheap  labor.  We  will  have  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other.  We  must  not  forget  that  nothing 
is  cheap  to  the  American  people  wliich  comes  from 
abroad  when  it  entails  idleness  upon  our  own  laborers." 

To  3,000  Pennsylvania  workingmen  (on  Labor 
Day)  :  "  When  a  man  is  out  of  a  job  he  is  usually  out 
of  money,  and  to  live  he  must  draw  upon  his  savings 
if  he  has  any.  If  not  upon  his  savings  then  upon  his 
credit.  What  the  idle  morkingman  wrants  is  a  job 
that  means  money  to  him.  The  mints,  if  they  were 
thrown  wide  open  to  the  coinage  of  every  character 


412  McKINLEY'S   ADDKESSES 

of  metal  and  were  multiplied  100  fold  in  capacity, 
would  neither  furnish  the  workingman  a  job  nor 
supply  his  exhausted  savings  or  give  him  credit. 
Nothing  will  accompish  that  but  work.  Work  at  fair 
wages,  and  that  will  only  come  through  confidence 
restored  by  a  wise  financial  and  industrial  policy. 

"  And  there  is  another  thing  we  ought  to  remem- 
ber, that  free  silver  at  a  ratio  of  16  to  1,  or  any  other 
ratio,  will  not  repeal  the  great  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand. It  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  you  can 
enhance  values  by  diminishing  the  value  of  money — 
that  you  can  increase  the  value  of  anything  by  chang- 
ing its  measure.  You  can  no  more  do  that  than  you 
can  increase  quantity  by  lowering  the  bushel  measure. 
Garfield  uttered  a  great  truth  when  speaking  for  the 
redemption  of  specie  payments  he  said:  'In  the 
name  of  every  man  who  wants  his  own  when  he  has 
earned  it,  I  demand  that  he  do  not  make  the  wages 
of  the  poor  man  to  shrivel  in  his  hands  after  he  has 
earned  them.  But  that  his  money  shall  be  made  bet- 
ter and  easier  until  the  plowholder's  money  shall  be 
as  good  as  the  bondholder's  money.  Until  our  stand- 
ard is  one,  and  there  is  no  longer  one  money  for  the 
rich  and  another  for  the  poor.' 

"I  thank  you,  my  countrymen,  for  this  generous 
and  gracious  call  here  to-day.  One  of  the  great 
sources  of  comfort  to  me  in  this  great  campaign  is  the 
feeling  that  I  have  behind  me  the  workingmen  of  the 
United  States.  It  will  give  me  pleasure  now  to  meet 
and  greet  each  and  every  one  of  you." 


McKINLEY'S   ADDRESSES  413 

To  a  delegation  from  Vermont :  "  A  people  who 
could  tax  themselves  most  heavily  to  equip  and  main- 
tain the  armies  and  navies  of  the  Union,  and  continue 
the  most  extensive  and  expensive  war  in  history,  will 
not  turn  their  backs  upon  the  soldiers  of  that  war, 
nor  seek  to  pay  their  pensions  in  dollars  worth  only 
half  their  face  value. 

"  A  people  who  emerged  from  that  war  with  an  in- 
terest-bearing debt  of  $2,382,000,000,  or  $70  per  capita 
for  our  entire  population  in  1865,  will  not  now,  after 
having  honestly  paid  three-fourths  of  that  great  debt, 
ever  seek  directly  or  indirectly  to  repudiate  one  dollar 
of  it  or  cheapen  the  coin  of  payment. 

"  A  people,  I  say,  who  proceeded  in  good  faith  to 
pay  off  that  debt  with  such  unparalleled  rapidity 
that,  it  was  estimated  in  1888,  up  to  that  time  they 
had  paid  $123  for  every  minute  of  every  day  of  every 
year  from  1865  to  1888,  will  not  now  falter,  bargain 
or  scheme  to  defraud  any  creditor  of  the  Government, 
whoever  or  wherever  he  may  be." 

To  G.  A.  R.  veterans  of  Ohio :  "  You  were  good 
citizens  before  you  went  to  the  war ;  you  were  good 
soldiers  in  the  war ;  you  have  been  good  citizens  ever 
since,  standing  by  the  same  old  flag,  no  matter  where 
you  are. 

Let  me  point  to  you  a  picture ! 

See  a  million  soldiers  there, 
Flushed  with  triumph,  and  with  weap'ona 

Flashing  keen  and  bright  and  bare. 

Vanished  !   Wondrous  transformation  ! 
Where  is  now  that  mighty  band  ? 


414  McKINLEY'S   ADDEESSES 

Do  they  roam,  a  vast  banditti, 
Pillaging  their  native  land  ? 

No,  we  point  to  field  and  workshop  ; 
Let  the  world  the  moral  see, 

There,  beneath  the  dust  of  labor, 
Toil  the  veteran  soldiery. 

Ye,  who,  mightiest  in  the  battle, 
On  the  mountain  and  the  plain 

Wrought,  yes,  wrought  your  greatest  triumph 
When  ye  sought  your  homes  again. 

Sought  your  home,  'mid  peace  and  quiet, 
Grasping  with  your  strong  right  hand 

Implements  of  honest  labor, 
Toiling  to  rebuild  the  land. 

"  You  were  patriots  then ;  you  are  patriots  to-day. 
You  know  no  politics  in  your  Grand  Army  posts,  but 
you  do  know  patriotism  when  you  see  it." 

To  the  steel  workers  of  Braddock,  Pa. :  "  From  the 
hour  it  was  determined  by  the  American  people  that 
the  Republican  party  which  with  but  a  single  inter- 
ruption had  been  in  control  of  the  Government  for 
thirty  years,  was  to  go  out  of  power  and  another 
party  with  a  different  policy  was  to  come  in,  that 
moment  every  business  man  of  the  country  assumed 
an  attitude  of  anxious  waiting  and  of  fear  and  anxiety. 

"  While  business  men  were  waiting  to  know  what 
legislation  was  to  be,  business  was  languishing  from 
one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  and  labor  was 
without  work.  Then  we  commenced  living  from  hand 
to  mouth,  and  we  have  been  living  from  hand  to 
mouth  ever  since.  And,  as  an  old  comrade  said  to 
me  the  other  day,  the  distance  seemed  to  be  getting 
greater  with  every  succeeding  year, 


McKIXLEY'S   ADDRESSES  415 

"  According  to  a  census  recently  taken  by  a  news- 
paper in  New  York,  it  appears  that  in  July,  1892, 
577  employers  of  labor  in  the  United  States  that  year 
gave  work  to  114,231  hands.  How  was  it  in  July, 
1896  ?  The  same  employers  gave  work  to  78,700 
hands;  35,531  men  who  had  been  employed  in  1892 
were  thrown  out  of  employment  in  1896  and  put  in 
a  state  of  idleness,  resulting  in  a  loss  of  more  than  30 
per  cent,  to  labor. 

"In  July,  1892,  the  wages  paid  to  the  114,231 
hands  amounted  to  $3,927,000;  in  July,  1896,  the 
earnings  of  the  78,700  hands  amounted  to  only  $2,- 
469,712,  a  loss  to  labor  in  a  single  month  in  these 
establishments  of  $1,457,000,  a  decrease  or  loss  to 
labor  of  40  per  cent." 

To  delegates  from  Indiana  :  "  I  believe  in  America 
for  Americans,  native  born  and  naturalized.  I  be- 
lieve in  the  American  pay  roll.  And  I  don't  believe 
in  diminishing  that  pay  roll  by  giving  work  to  any- 
body else  under  another  flag  while  we've  got  an  idle 
man  under  our  flag. 

"  Four  years  ago  the  laborer  was  agitating  the  ques- 
tion of  shorter  hours.  We  then  had  too  much  to  do. 
I  have  heard  no  discussion  of  that  kind  for  four  years. 
And  I  never  heard  a  laboring  man  discussing  the  de- 
sirability of  having  shorter  dollars. 

"  The  cause  of  complaint  of  our  opponents  is,  first, 
that  we  have  not  enough  money,  and,  second,  that 
sur  money  is  too  good. 

"  To  the  first  complaint,  I  answer  that   the  per 


416  McKINLEY'S   ADDEESSEB 

capita  of  circulating  medium  of  this  country  has  been 
greater  since  the  so-called  '  crime  of  1873'  than  it 
ever  was  before,  and  that  it  has  been  greater  in  the 
past  five  years  than  it  ever  was  in  all  our  history. 

"  We  have  not  only  got  the  best  money  in  the 
world,  but  we've  got  more  of  it  than  most  of  the 
nations  of  the  world.  We've  got  more  money  than 
the  United  Kingdom  per  capita.  We've  got  more 
money  than  Germany  per  capita.  We've  got  more 
money  than  Italy  per  capita.  We've  got  more  money 
than  Switzerland,  Greece,  Spain,  Roumania,  Servia, 
Austria,  Hungary,  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Rus- 
sia, Turkey.  Mexico,  and  the  Central  and  Southern 
American  States,  and  more  than  Japan  or  China  per 
capita. 

"  So  that  some  other  reason  than  the  lack  of  volume 
of  money  must  be  found  to  account  for  the  present 
condition  of  the  country." 

To  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  real  estate  men  :  "  The  courts 
which  interpret  and  execute  the  law  must  be  pre- 
served on  that  exalted  plane  of  purity  and  incorrupt- 
ibility which  have  so  signally  characterized  the 
American  judiciary.  These  courts  must  be  upheld 
for  the  safety  and  defense  of  the  citizen.  When  the 
law  and  those  whose  constitutional  duty  it  is  to  exe- 
cute them  are  assailed  the  Government  itself  is  as- 
sailed. 

"  If  there  are  those  who  would  break  down  law 
and  disturb  the  peace  and  good  order  of  society,  then 
those  who  value  these  safeguards  as  essential  to  our 


MILITARY    HEROES    OF    SANTIAGO    AND    PORTO    RJCO. 


o  or  8h°°«eVe^  CoP7rigfcted  by  Rockwood.) 
to  01  Sbafter  Copyrighted  by  Cha*.  P»rk*r.) 


NAVAL   HEROES   OF   SANTIAGO, 
(Photo  of  Hobson  Copyrighted  by  Falk.) 


McKIXLEY'S    ADDRESSES  419 

liberty  must  sacredly  guard  and  defend  them  by  their 
ballots.  This  they  will  do  with  the  same  earnest  pa- 
triotism that  they  have  always  displayed  in  every 
great  emergency  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 

"  To  strike  at  the  credit  of  the  country  is  to  deal  a 
blow  at  its  prosperity.  It  destroys  confidence,  and, 
when  that  is  gone  business  stops  and  the  currents  of 
trade  are  dried  up.  Confidence,  in  a  measure,  and  in 
a  very  great  measure,  is  the  capital  of  the  world. 
Destroy  confidence  and  you  invite  ruin  to  every  en- 
terprise in  the  land. 

"Absolute  integrity  of  payment  in  all  transactions, 
public  and  private,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  confi- 
dence, and,  when  confidence  is  once  firmly  estab- 
lished, there  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  capital.  This  is 
the  universal  experience  of  both  government  and  in- 
dividual. 

"A  tainted  credit  is  a  constant  embarrassment  to 
government  and  citizens,  and,  when  it  once  fastens 
itself  upon  either,  it  is  hard  for  them  to  recover.  A 
limping  credit  attracts  no  capital  and  inspires  no  con- 
fidence." 

To  tin-plate  men  :  "  I  submit  to  all  of  you,  no 
matter  what  may  have  been  your  politics  in  the  past, 
whether  you  would  not  prefer  to  have  that  tin-plate 
factory  in  your  county,  and  in  your  State  than  to 
have  it  in  Wales.  The  more  factories  you  can  have 
in  any  community  the  better  will  be  the  general  in- 
dustrial conditions  and  the  better  will  be  the  market 
for  the  farmer  who  produces  food  products.  But  it 


420  McKINLEY'S    ADDRESSES 

is  not  my  purpose  to  address  you  on  political  ques- 
tions." 

To  Indiana  railroad  men  :  "  Why,  talk  about  the 
creditors  of  this  country!  Our  opponents  animad- 
vert against  them.  Who  are  the  creditors  of  this 
country  ?  They  are  the  men  who  labor  in  this 
country. 

"The  greatest  creditors  of  this  country  are  its 
workingmen.  Aside  from  what  is  due  them  on  in- 
vestments and  savings,  their  current  wages  make 
them  the  largest  credit  class  in  the  United  States. 

"  The  employers  of  this  country  owe  their  em- 
ployees every  thirty  days  in  good  times  more  than 
the  whole  debt  of  the  bonds  of  the  United  States, 
while  nearly  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  are  paid 
out  annually  to  the  railroad  employees  alone." 

To  a  delegation  from  Centre  county,  Pa. :  "  I  have 
often  wondered  if  Pennsylvania's  powerful  influence 
for  stability,  conservatism  and  prosperity  in  the 
Union  and  its  great  strength  and  self-supporting  ca- 
pacity as  a  Commonwealth  in  that  Union  were  prop- 
erly appreciated.  Her  agriculture,  commerce  and 
manufacturing,  while  independent  in  one  sense,  have 
always  been  mutually  inter-dependent,  beneficial  and 
helpful.  The  whole  community  has  profited  by  each 
and  all  of  them. 

"  This  has  been  the  case  ever  since  its  settlement 
in  pioneer  days,  and  under  its  wise  system  of  politi- 
cal economy,  not  created  or  fostered  by  the  creed  of 
visionaries,  but  that  of  plain,  sensible,  practical  men. 


McKIXLEY'S   ADDRESSES  421 

"  No  other  similar  reward  of  husbandry  is  pre- 
sented anywhere,  and  I  make  no  apology,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  for  your  getting  a  like  policy  everywhere  or 
for  having  always  endeavored  to  the  extent  of  my 
efforts  to  continue  this  wise  system  under  which  you 
have  such  splendid  results  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

"Call  it  the  Pennsylvania  system,  if  you  will;  it 
only  does  honor  to  Pennsylvania  and  her  statesman- 
ship, for  it  benefits  all  our  laborers  and  farmers  in  all 
parts  of  the  American  Union.  Why  should  we  not 
do  all  our  work  and  spend  all  our  own  wages  at  home, 
giving  to  both  farmers  and  workingmen  the  richest 
rewards  for  their  labor  of  any  country  under  the  sun  ? 
Answer  that,  my  fellow-citizens." 

To  miners  from  Clarion  county,  Pa. :  "  There  is 
one  thing  which  I  think  we  are  sometimes  too  apt  to 
forget.  We  are  too  apt  to  forget  what  is  behind  us, 
and  too  apt  to  be  heedless  of  our  own  experience. 
We  can  hardly  realize  that  from  1873  to  1893  we  re- 
duced the  public  debt  from  $2,333,331,308  in  1866 
to  $570,000,000.  We  paid  off  during  those  twenty 
years  $1,623,581,673  of  the  public  debt.  And  we 
were  under  a  protective  and  sound  money  system 
when  we  were  making  the  large  payments.  Two- 
thirds  of  that  great  debt  has  disappeared,  and  while 
we  were  paying  it  off  we  were  building  in  this  coun- 
try the  most  splendid  industrial  enterprises,  giving 
steady  employment  to  American  labor  at  fair  wages, 
and  giving  to  the  farmers  of  the  country  a  just  reward 


422  McKINLEY'S   ADDEESSES 

for  their  toil  and  labor.  During  the  period,  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  time,  we  were  selling  more  gold 
abroad  than  we  were  buying  abroad.  And  the  bal- 
ance of  trade  was,  therefore,  in  our  favor,  and  the 
balance  of  trade,  settled  as  it  was  in  gold,  gave  us  the 
good  yellow  money  from  the  other  side  of  the  ocean. 
No,  my  fellow-citizens,  four  years  ago  the  people  of 
this  country  determined  to  change  that  policy,  and 
they  did  change  it." 

To  the  McKinley  Club,  of  Goodland,  Ind. :  «  The 
idea  that  the  Government  can  create  wealth  is  a  mere 
myth.  There  is  nothing  that  can  create  wealth  ex- 
cept labor. 

"  Now  the  best  way  to  get  this  money  is  one  of  the 
questions  in  this  campaign.  Is  it  easier  to  raise  it 
by  direct  taxation,  by  taxing  the  people  in  their  oc- 
cupations, on  their  property  and  on  their  lands,  or  is 
it  not  better  to  raise  it  by  putting  the  tax  upon  the 
foreign  products  that  come  into  this  country  to  seek 
a  market  in  the  United  States  ? 

"  The  latter  is  the  policy  and  purpose  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  The  Republican  party  believes  that 
the  great  bulk  of  the  money  required  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Government  should  be  raised  by  put- 
ting a  tax  upon  the  foreign  products  that  come  into 
this  country  to  compete  with  American  products.  If 
we  could  create  money  by  merely  starting  our  mints 
running,  then  there  would  be  no  necessity  of  taxes." 

To  the  United  Italian  Republican  Club,  of  Pitts- 
burg  :  "  We  are  a  nation  of  working  people ;  we  rec- 


McKINLEY'S   ADDRESSES 

ognize  no  caste  and  will  tolerate  none  beneath  our 
flag.  (A  voice  :  '  We  know  it,'  and  great  applause.) 
The  voice  of  one  citizen  is  as  potent  as  the  voice  of 
another,  and  the  united  voice  when  constitutionally 
expressed  is  the  law  of  the  land.  The  great  English 
statistician,  Mr.  Mulhall,  declares  that  no  other  civ- 
ilized country  but  the  United  States  could  boast  of 
41,000,000  instructed  citizens  in  a  total  population 
of  less  than  70,000,000,  all  of  whom  are  equal  bene- 
ficiaries of  the  advantages  and  blessings  and  opportu- 
nities of  free  government. 

"  The  issues  of  this  campaign  cannot  be  overstated 
in  their  importance.  What  are  they?  First,  shall 
.we  sustain  law  and  order  and  uphold  the  tribunals  of 
justice,  which  in  all  the  trying  times  of  the  past 
have  been  our  greatest  safety  and  our  pride  ?  Shall 
we  do  this,  men  of  Italian  birth  and  descent  ?  Shall 
we  continue  a  financial  policy  which  is  safe  and  sound, 
and  gives  to  us  a  money  with  which  to  do  a  business 
that  is  stable  in  value  and  which  commands  respect, 
not  only  at  home,  but  in  every  commercial  nation  of 
the  world  ? 

"  Shall  we  restore  the  industrial  policy  by  which 
this  nation  has  become  mightier  than  all  the  other 
great  commercial,  manufacturing,  mining  and  farm- 
ing nations  of  the  world  ? 

"On  these  questions  there  should  be  no  two  opin- 
ions ;  and  I  believe  this  year  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try of  every  nationality,  of  every  race  and  clan,  loyal 
as  they  are  to  this  Government  of  their  adoption, 


424  McKINLEY'S   ADDRESSES 

will  unitedly  sustain  the  authority  of  law  and  the 
Constitution.  Continue  an  honest  financial  system 
which  will  share  work  and  wages  and  employment 
and  comforts  for  labor,  good  markets  for  the  farmers, 
in  which  all  the  people  will  participate." 

To  miners  and  oil  men  of  McDonald,  Pa. :  "  We 
can  truthfully  claim  as  Americans  that  our  na- 
tional administrations  in  all  the  years  of  the  past, 
whether  Federal  or  Democratic  or  Whig  or  Republi- 
can, have  for  the  most  part  conducted  the  Govern- 
ment with  credit,  honor  and  efficiency.  To  our 
credit,  be  it  said,  that  not  one  of  these  administra- 
tions, whatever  may  have  been  their  mistakes  and 
failures,  ever  suggested,  much  less  attempted,  the 
repudiation,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  a  single  dollar, 
or  cent,  honestly  due  to  a  citizen  of  this  or  any  other 
country  of  the  globe,  nor  counseled  the  establishment 
of  a  money  for  the  uses  of  the  people  tainted  with 
the  slightest  dishonor. 

"  Shall  we  now  consent  or  seem  to  consent  by 
our  votes  to  lower  that  high  standard  or  reverse 
the  proud  policy  which  this  Government  has  pur- 
sued from  its  beginning  ?  Shall  we  tolerate  now  a 
policy  that  would  cheat  any  of  our  creditors,  whoever 
or  wherever  they  may  be  ? 

"  Shall  we  tolerate  a  policy  that  would  deprive 
the  brave  men  living,  or  their  widows  or  orphans, 
of  a  farthing  in  the  pensions  that  a  grateful  Gov- 
ernment has  granted  them  ?  'How  could  we  recall 
their  patriotic  services,  or  the  heroic  services  of 


X'S   ADDRESSES 

Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Lincoln  and 
Grant,  if  we  were  to  stoop  to  shave  one  dollar 
either  from  the  money  credit  of  the  Government,  or 
those  of  her  creditors  of  the  Government  who  were 
willing  to  give  their  lives  to  save  the  Union?" 

To  a  Tennessee  delegation  :  "  Tennessee  can  justly 
boast  that  she  has  been  the  birthplace  and  home 
of  many  of  the  eminent  men  of  our  country.  She 
has  given  to  the  Presidency  three  of  her  distin- 
guished citizens — Jackson,  Polk  and  Johnson.  She 
gave  to  the  Lone  Star  Republic  of  Texas  that  sturdy 
old  patriot,  Sam  Houston,  one  of  its  early  Presi- 
dents. She  has  given  to  the  nation  such  splendid 
patriots,  statesmen  and  upright  public  servants, 
among  whom  are  Hugh  L.  White,  John  Bell,  Felix 
Grundy,  David  Crockett,  Admiral  Farragut,  David 
Givin,  of  California,  and  that  distinguished  journalist 
of  Kentucky,  Henry  Watterson. 

"  The  record  this  year  of  Tennessee  should  be 
in  keeping  with  the  principles  emblazoned  on  her 
State  seal,  Agriculture,  Manufacture  and  Commerce. 
With  prosperity  in  these  fields  of  human  activity, 
she  can  always  advance ;  without  it,  she  must  in- 
evitably recede  and  decline. 

"  Men  of  Tennessee,  do  you  stand  by  the  prin- 
ciples enunciated  by  the  immortal  Jackson?  Do 
you  favor  a  protective  tariff  and  honest  money  ?  I 
am  glad  to  be  assured  by  your  voices  that  you  do, 
and  that  you  have  not  forgotten  the  force  and  merit 
of  his  great  example.  Do  you  believe  in  his  decla- 


426  McKINLEY'S   ADDRESSES 

ration  for  the  enforcement  and  the  majesty  of  public 
law  ?  Are  you  willing  -to  '  compromise '  the  great 
principles  he  so  steadfastly  upholds  in  defense  of 
the  Constitution,  the  courts  and  the  citizen  ?  " 

To  the  thousands  of  visitors  on  "  Illinois  Day " 
(Oct.  21st)  :  "  You  have  the  immortal  Lincoln. 
That's  enough  for  one  State.  You  have  the  mighty 
Grant,  who  filled  the  world  with  his  fame  as  he  joru- 
neyed  in  the  pathway  of  the  sun.  Then  you  had 
Logan.  Then  you  have  Oglesby — grand  old  Dick 
Oglesby,  and  you  have  Tanner. 

"Your  farm  products  have  reached  $270,000,000 
in  a  single  year,  and  some  people  seem  to  think  you 
would  produce  more  if  you  had  free  silver ;  or  more 
than  $5  an  acre  for  every  acre  of  land.  Now  that 
the  price  of  wheat  is  going  up  and  silver  is  going 
down,  and  your  crops  have  been  exceptionally  good, 
I  cannot  see  how  even  the  most  pessimistic  can  con- 
vince you,  or  themselves,  that  our  present  gold  stand- 
ard, which  we  have  had  since  1879,  can  be  of  the 
least  possible  detriment  to  you. 

"  It  was  announced  from  this  platform  that  you 
had  made  the  largest  registration  of  any  State  in  the 
American  Union ;  and  that  ought  to  mean  the  largest 
majority  of  any  State  in  the  American  Union  for 
sound  money  and  protection.  What  will  be  your 
answer  to  the  open  challenges  to  be  made  for  public 
honesty  and  public  morals  ? 

"  You  can  never  permanently  advance  or  prosper 
under  any  system  of  false  finance  or  false  political 


HeKINLEY>S    ADDRESSES  427 

economy  that  was  ever  devised  by  the  will  of  man. 
You  can  only  prosper  upon  honest  principles,  honest 
purposes,  honest  laws,  public  and  private  honor. 

"Agriculture  will  be  prostrated,  commerce  will 
languish,  mining  will  decrease  and  manufactures  di- 
minish, if,  to  the  misery  of  partial  free  trade,  you  add 
the  heresy  of  free  silver,  which  in  this  contest  means 
the  violation  of  the  existing  contracts  and  the  utter 
disregard  of  good  faith  and  the  absolute  repudiation 
in  whole  or  in  part  of  our  public  or  private  obliga- 
tions. Disguise  the  issues  as  you  may,  the  bold, 
cold,  hard  facts  remain,  and  no  amount  of  chicanery 
or  sophistry  will  hide  them." 

To  his  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens  of  Canton : 
"  The  American  people  will  never  take  so  rash  and 
wicked  a  step  as  to  invalidate  or  impair  the  value  of 
their  own  government  obligations.  They  .will  never 
consent  by  popular  vote  or  otherwise  to  the  repudia- 
tion of  one  farthing  of  their  national  debt.  They 
will  never  brook  the  thought  of  not  looking  the 
whole  world  in  the  face  and  challenging  any  nation 
to  point  to  a  more  honorable  or  creditable  record 
than  ours." 

To  some  150  or  more  college  students  coming  from 
over  thirty  institutions  in  couples  and  trios :  " '  Study 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  thoroughly ; 
contrast  its  teachings  with  the  doctrines  of  the  poli- 
tical parties  of  the  day,  and  vote  with  the  one  you 
then  believe  will  do  the  most  for  your  country.' " 

"  The  Republican  party  can  well  afford  to  submit 


428  McKINLEY'S    ADDRESSES 

to  that  test ;  it  never  has  shrunk  from  the  severest 
tests  of  the  past  and  has  never  suffered  thereby.  But 
in  the  alignment  of  parties  to-day  and  in  the  vital 
questions  at  issue  between  them,  it  especially  and 
cheerfully  invites  comparison  and  contrast.  It  has 
no  aim  but  the  public  good  and  the  honor  of  the 
American  name,  and  confidently  submits  its  conten- 
tion, not  to  a  class  or  a  section,  but  to  the  whole 
American  people. 

"  Daniel  Webster  always  stood  for  America,  and  I 
can  recall  no  grander  words  in  any  oration  than  the 
ringing,  truthful  and  touching  sentences  in  which, 
after  paying  his  own  State  grand  and  well-deserved 
tribute,  he  in  terms  of  endearment  claimed  Washing- 
ton, Henry,  Marshall,  Jefferson,  Madison  and  other 
distinguished  Southerners  as  just  as  much  his  country- 
men as  any  of  the  noble  patriots  of  New  England. 

"  He  expressed  in  that  wonderful  speech  the  true 
sentiment  of  this  campaign,  the  dominant,  moving 
force  of  the  present  national  contest.  This  is  the 
spirit  that  should  animate  every  young  man  in  the 
country,  in  college  and  out,  everywhere  to-day — a 
national  spirit — a  broad  and  comprehensive  patri- 
otism, a  genuine  Americanism. 

61  If  I  could  give  the  young  men  of  the  United  States 
a  message  that  I  would  have  them  hear  and  heed,  it 
would  be  '  Stand  up  for  America ;  devote  your  life  to 
its  cause ;  love  your  own  homes  and  prove  as  worthy 
of  our  cherished  free  institutions  as  they  are  worthy 
of  your  allegiance  and  services.' 


McKIXLEY'S   ADDRESSES  429 

"  Let  not  the  high  standard  of  national  honor  raised 
by  the  fathers  be  lowered  by  their  sons.  Let  learn- 
ing, liberty  and  law  be  exalted  and  enthroned. 

"  You  come  from  the  great  educational  institutions 
of  the  land,  and  I  dare  say  love  to  contemplate  with 
me  their  great  and  increasing  importance.  Each  is 
for  his  own,  but  proud  of  all,  and  there  are  none  but 
would  give  honor  to  the  great  public  school  system 
of  the  country. 

"  In  addition  to  the  great  outlay  by  the  nation  upon 
common  schools,  America  has  just  reason  to  be  proud 
of  the  private  benefactions  which  our  philanthropic 
citizens  are  constantly  making  to  our  colleges  and 
universities.  They  have  fallen  off,  it  is  true,  in  the 
last  three  years,  and  they  will  be  still  more  reduced 
if  we  are  ever  so  unwise  as  to  enter  upon  the  project 
of  free  silver  as  now  proposed,  or  any  other  scheme 
of  false  finance." 


CHAPTER  xx. 

MCKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

A  lofty  appeal  to  all  patriotic  Americans  for  the  prompt  solution  of 
the  great  and  pressing  problems  of  the  National  Government. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS :  In  obedience  to  the  will 
of  the  people  and  in  their  presence  by  the 
authority  vested  in  me  by  them,  I  must  be  both 
"  sure  we  are  right "  and  "  make  haste  slowly." 

If,  therefore,  Congress  in  its  wisdom  shall  deem  it 
expedient  to  create  a  commission  to  take  under  con- 
sideration the  revision  of  our  coinage,  banking  and 
currency  laws,  and  give  them  that  exhaustive,  care- 
ful and  dispassionate  examination  that  their  impor- 
tance demands,  I  shall  cordially  concur  in  such 
action. 

If  such  power  is  vested  in  the  President,  it  is  my 
purpose  to  appoint  a  commission  of  prominent,  well- 
informed  citizens  of  different  parties,  who  will  com- 
mand publi|  confidence  both  on  account  of  their 
ability  andfcpecial  fitness  for  the  work. 

Business  psperience  and  public  training  may  thus 
be  combined,:  and  the  patriotic  zeal  of  the  friends  of 
the  countrylbe  so  directed  that  such  a  report  will  be 

made  as  to  receive  the  support  of  all  parties,  and  our 

430 


McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS          431 

finances  cease  to  be  the  subject  of  mere  partisan 
contention. 

The  experiment  is,  at  all  events,  worth  a  trial, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  it  can  but  prove  beneficial  to  the 
entire  country. 

The  question  of  international  bimetallism  will 
have  early  and  earnest  attention.  It  will  be  my  con- 
stant endeavor  to  secure  it  by  co-operation  with  the 
other  great  commercial  Powers  of  the  world. 

Until  that  condition  is  realized,  when  the  parity 
between  our  gold  and  silver  money  springs  from  and 
is  supported  by  the  relative  value  of  the  two  metals, 
the  value  of  the  silver  already  coined,  and  of  that 
which  may  hereafter  be  coined,  must  be  kept  con- 
stantly at  par  with  gold  by  every  resource  at  our 
command. 

The  credit  of  the  Government,  the  integrity  of  its 
currency  and  the  inviolability  of  its  obligations  must 
be  preserved.  This  will  be  the  commanding  verdict 
of  the  people,  and  it  will  not  be  unheeded. 

Economy  is  demanded  in  every  branch  of  the  Gov- 
ernment at  all  times,  but  especially  in  periods  like 
the  present  of  depression  in  business  and  distress 
among  the  people.  The  severest  economy  must  be 
observed  in  all  public  expenditures,  and  extravagance 
stopped  wherever  it  is  found,  and  prevented  wherever 
in  the  future  it  may  be  developed. 

If  the  revenues  are  to  remain  as  now,  the  only  re- 
lief that  can  come  must  be  from  decreased  expendi- 
tures. 


432          McKINLEY'S  I^AUGUEAL  ADDRESS 

But  the  present  must  not  become  the  permanent 
condition  of  the  Government. 

It  has  been  our  uniform  practice  to  retire,  not  in- 
crease, our  outstanding  obligations,  and  this  policy 
must  again  be  resumed  and  vigorously  enforced. 

Our  revenues. should  always  be  large  enough  to 
meet  with  ease  and  promptness  not  only  our  current 
needs,  and  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  public 
debt,  but  to  make  proper  and  liberal  provision  for  that 
most  deserving  body  of  public  creditors,  the  soldiers 
and  sailors,  and  the  widows  and  orphans,  who  are 
the  pensioners  of  the  United  States. 

The  Government  must  not  be  permitted  to  run  be- 
hind, or  increase  its  debt,  in  times  like  the  present. 
Suitably  to  provide  against  this  is  the  mandate  of 
duty ;  the  certain  and  easy  remedy  for  most  of  our 
financial  difficulties. 

A  deficiency  is  inevitable  so  long  as  the  expen- 
ditures of  the  Government  exceed  its  receipts.  It 
can  only  be  met  by  loans,  or  an  increased  revenue. 

While  a  large  annual  surplus  of  revenue  may  invite 
waste  and  extravagance,  inadequate  revenue  creates 
distrust  and  undermines  public  and  private  credit. 
Neither  should  be  encouraged. 

Between  more  loans  and  more  revenue,  there  ought 
to  be  but  one  opinion.  We  should  have  more  re- 
venue, and  that  without  delay,  hindrance,  or  post- 
ponement. 

A  surplus  in  the  Treasury  created  by  loans  is  not 
a  permanent  or  safe  reliance.  It  will  suffice  while  it 


McKIXLF.Y'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS          433 

lasts,  but  it  cannot  last  long  while  the  outlays  of  the 
Government  are  greater  than  its  receipts,  as  has  been, 
the  case  during  the  past  two  years. 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that,  however  much  such 
loans  may  temporarily  relieve  the  situation,  the 
Government  is  still  indebted  for  the  amount  of  the 
surplus  thus  accrued,  which  it  must  ultimately  pay, 
while  its  ability  to  pay  is  not  strengthened  but  weak- 
ened by  a  continued  deficit. 

Loans  are  imperative  in  great  emergencies  to  pre- 
serve the  Government  or  its  credit,  but  a  failure  to 
supply  needed  revenue  in  time  of  peace  for  the  main- 
tenance of  either  has  no  justification. 

The  best  way  for  the  Government  to  maintain  its 
credit  is  to  pay  as  it  goes — not  by  resorting  to  loans, 
but  by  keeping  out  of  debt — through  an  adequate  in- 
come secured  by  a  system  of  taxation,  external  or  in- 
ternal, or  both. 

It  is  the  settled  policy  of  the  Government,  pursued 
from  the  beginning  and  practised  by  all  parties  and 
Administrations,  to  raise  the  bulk  of  our  revenue  from 
taxes  upon  foreign  productions  entering  the  United 
States  for  sale  and  consumption,  and  avoiding,  for 
the  most  part,  every  form  of  direct  taxation  except 
in  time  of  war. 

The  country  is  clearly  opposed  to  any  needless  ad- 
ditions to  the  subjects  of  internal  taxation,  and  is 
committed  by  its  latest  popular  utterance  to  the  sys- 
tem of  tariff  taxation. 

There  can   be  no  misunderstanding,  either,  about 


the  principle  upon  which  this  tariff  taxation  shall  be 
levied.  Nothing  has  ever  been  made  plainer  at  a 
general  election  than  that  the  controlling  principle  in 
the  raising  of  revenue  from  duties  on  imports  is  zeal- 
ous care  for  American  interests  and  American  labor. 
The  people  have  declared  that  such  legislation  should 
be  had  as  will  give  ample  protection  and  encourage- 
ment to  the  industries  and  the  development  of  our 
country. 

It  is,  therefore,  earnestly  hoped  and  expected  that 
Congress  will,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  en- 
act revenue  legislation  that  shall  be  fair,  reasonable, 
conservative,  and  just,  and  which,  while  supplying 
sufficient  revenue  for  public  purposes,  will  still  be 
signally  beneficial  and  helpful  to  every  section  and 
every  enterprise  of  the  people. 

To  this  policy  we  are  all,  of  whatever  party,  firmly 
bound  by  the  voice  of  the  people — a  power  vastly 
more  potential  than  the  expression  of  any  political 
platform. 

The  paramount  duty  of  Congress  is  to  stop  deficien- 
cies by  the  restoration  of  that  protective  legislation 
which  has  always  been  the  firmest  prop  of  the  Trea- 
sury. The  passage  of  such  a  law  or  laws  would 
strengthen  the  credit  of  the  Government  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  go  far  towards  stopping  the 
drain  upon  the  gold  reserve  held  for  the  redemption 
of  our  currency,  which  has  been  heavy  and  wellnigh 
constant  for  several  years. 

In  the  revision  of  the  tariff,  special  attention  should 


MeKIXLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS          435 

be  given  to  the  re-enactment  and  extension  of  the  re- 
ciprocity principle  of  the  law  of  1890,  under  which  so 
great  a  stimulus  was  given  to  our  foreign  trade  in 
new  and  advantageous  markets,  for  our  surplus  agri- 
cultural and  manufactured  products. 

The  brief  trial  given  this  legislation  am  ply  justifies 
a  further  experiment  and  additional  discretionary 
power  in  the  making  of  commercial  treaties,  the  end 
in  view  always  to  be  the  opening  up  of  new  markets 
for  the  products  of  other  lands  that  we  need  and  can- 
not produce  ourselves,  and  which  do  not  involve  any 
loss  of  labor  to  our  own  people,  but  tend  to  increase 
their  employment. 

The  depression  of  the  past  four  years  has  fallen 
with  especial  severity  upon  the  great  body  of  toilers 
of  the  country,  and  upon  none  more  than  the  holders 
of  small  farms.  Agriculture  has  languished  and  labor 
suffered.  The  revival  of  manufacturing  will  be  a  re- 
lief to  both. 

No  portion  of  our  population  is  more  devoted  to  the 
institutions  of  free  government,  nor  more  loyal  in 
their  support,  while  none  bears  more  cheerfully  or 
fully  its  proper  share  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
Government,  or  is  better  entitled  to  its  wise  and  lib- 
eral care  and  protection.  Legislation,  helpful  to  pro- 
ducers, is  beneficial  to  all. 

The  depressed  condition  of  industry  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  mine  and  factory  has  lessened  the  ability 
of  the  people  to  meet  the  demands  upon  them,  and 
they  rightfully  expect  that  not  only  a  system  of  re- 


436         McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

venue  shall  be  established  that  will  secure  the  largest 
income  with  the  least  burden,  but  that  every  means 
will  be  taken  to  decrease,  rather  than  increase,  our 
public  expenditures. 

Business  conditions  are  not  the  most  promising.  It- 
will  take  time  to  restore  the  prosperity  of  former  years. 
If  we  cannot  promptly  attain  it,  we  can  resolutely 
turn  our  faces  in  that  direction  and  aid  its  return  by 
friendly  legislation. 

However  troublesome  the  situation  may  appear, 
Congress  will  not,  I  am  sure,  be  found  lacking  in  di- 
sposition or  ability  to  relieve  it,  as  far  as  legislation 
can  do  so. 

The  restoration  of  confidence  and  the  revival  of 
business,  which  men  of  all  parties  so  much  desire,  de- 
pend more  largely  upon  the  prompt,  energetic,  and 
intelligent  action  of  Congress  than  upon  any  other 
single  agency  affecting  the  situation. 

It  is  inspiring,  too,  to  remember  that  no  great  em- 
ergency in  the  108  years  of  our  eventful  national  life 
has  ever  arisen  that  has  not  been  met  with  wisdom 
and  courage  by  the  American  people,  with  fidelity  to 
their  best  interests  and  highest  destiny,  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  American  name. 

Those  years  of  glorious  history  have  exalted  man- 
kind and  advanced  the  cause  of  freedom  throughout 
the  world  and  immeasurably  strengthened  the  pre- 
cious, free  institutions  which  we  enjoy.  The  people 
love  and  will  sustain  these  institutions. 

The  great  essential  to  our  happiness  and  prosperity 


McKINLEY'S  IXAUGUBAL  ADDRESS          437 

is  that  we  adhere  to  the  principles  upon  which  the 
Government  was  established  and  insist  upon  their 
faithful  observance.  Equality  of  rights  must  pre- 
vail and  our  laws  be  always  and  everywhere  respected 
and  obeyed. 

We  may  have  failed  in  the  discharge  of  our  full 
duty  as  citizens  of  the  great  Republic,  but  it  is  con- 
soling and  encouraging  to  realize  that  free  speech,  a 
free  press,  free  thought,  free  schools,  the  free  and  un- 
molested right  of  religious  liberty  and  worship,  and 
free  and  fair  elections  are  dearer  and  more  universally 
enjoyed  to-day  than  ever  before. 

These  guarantees  must  be  sacredly  preserved  and 
wisely  strengthened.  The  constituted  authorities 
must  be  cheerfully  and  vigorously  upheld. 

Lynching  must  not  be  tolerated  in  a  great  and 
civilized  country  like  the  United  States ;  Courts — not 
mobs — must  execute  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

The  preservation  of  public  order,  the  right  of  dis- 
cussion, the  integrity  of  courts,  and  the  orderly  ad- 
ministration of  justice  must  continue  forever  the  rock 
of  safety  upon  which  our  Government  securely  rests. 

One  of  the  lessons  taught  by  the  late  election,  which 
all  can  rejoice  in,  is  that  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  are  both  law-respecting  and  law-abiding  people, 
not  easily  swerved  from  the  path  of  patriotism  and 
honor.  This  is  in  entire  accord  with  the  genius  of 
our  institutions,  and  but  emphasizes  the  advantages 
of  inculcating  even  a  greater  love  for  law  and  order 
in  the  future. 


438         McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

Immunity  should  be  granted  to  none  who  violates 
the  laws,  whether  individuals,  corporations,  or  com- 
munities ;  and  as  the  Constitution  imposes  upon  the 
President  the  duty  of  both  its  own  execution  and  of 
the  statutes  enacted  in  pursuance  of  its  provisions,  I 
shall  endeavor  carefully  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

The  declaration  of  the  party  now  restored  to  power 
has  been  in  the  past  that  of  "  opposition  to  all  com- 
binations of  capital  organized  in  trusts,  or  otherwise, 
to  control  arbitrarily  the  condition  of  trade  among  our 
citizens,"  and  it  lias  supported  "  such  legislation  as 
will  prevent  the  execution  of  all  schemes  to  oppress 
the  people  by  undue  charges  on  their  supplies  or  by 
unjust  rates  for  the  transportation  of  their  products 
to  market." 

This  purpose  will  be  steadily  pursued,  both  by  the 
enforcement  of  the  laws  now  in  existence  and  the  re- 
commendation and  support  of  such  new  statutes  as 
may  be  necessary  to  carry  it  into  effect. 

Our  naturalization  and  immigration  laws  should  be 
further  improved  to  the  constant  promotion  of  a  safer, 
a  better,  arid  a  higher  citizenship.  A  grave  peril  to 
the  Republic  would  be  a  citizenship,  too  ignorant  to 
understand  or  too  vicious  to  appreciate  the  great  value 
and  beneficence  of  our  institutions  and  laws,  and 
against  all  who  come  here  to  make  war  upon  them 
our  gates  must  be  promptly  and  tightly  closed. 

Nor  must  we  be  unmindful  of  the  need  of  improve- 
ment among  our  own  citizens,  but  with  the  zeal  of 
our  forefathers  encourage  the  spread  of  knowledge 

32 


vs  INAUGURAL  AJ  439 

and  free  institutions.  Illiteracy  must  be  banished 
from  the  land,  if  we  shall  attain  that  high  destiny  as 
the  foremost  of  the  enlightened  nations  of  the  world, 
which,  under  Providence,  we  ought  to  achieve. 

Reforms  in  the  civil  service  must  go  on.  But  the 
changes  should  be  real  and  genuine,  not  perfunctory, 
or  promoted  by  a  zeal  in  behalf  of  any  party,  simply 
because  it  happens  to  be  in  power. 

As  a  member  of  Congress  I  voted  and  spoke  in 
favor  of  the  present  law,  and  I  shall  attempt  its  en- 
forcement in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  enacted. 

The  purpose  in  view  was  to  secure  the  most  efficient 
service  of  the  best  men,  who  would  accept  appoint- 
ment under  the  Government,  retaining  faithful  and 
devoted  public  servants  in' office,  but  shielding  none 
under  the  authority  of  any  rule  or  custom,  who  are 
inefficient,  incompetent;  or  unworthy.  The  best  in- 
terests of  the  country  demand  this,  and  the  people 
heartily  approve  the  law  wherever  and  whenever  it 
has  been  thus  administered. 

Congress  should  give  prompt  attention  to  the  re- 
storation of  our  American  merchant  marine,  once  the 
pride  of  the  seas  in  all  the  great  ocean  highways  of 
commerce. 

To  my  mind  few  more  important  subjects  so  im- 
peratively demand  its  intelligent  consideration.  The 
United  States  has  progressed  with  marvellous  rapidity 
in  every  field  of  enterprise  and  endeavor  until  we 
have  become  foremost  in  nearly  all  the  great  lines  of 
inland  trade,  commerce,  and  industry. 


440          McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

Yet,  while  this  is  true,  our  American  merchant 
marine  has  been  steadily  declining  until  it  is  now 
lower  both  in  the  percentage  of  tonnage  and  the  num- 
ber of  vessels  employed  than  it  was  prior  to  the  Civil 
War. 

Commendable  progress  has  been  made  of  late  years 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  American  navy,  but  we  must 
supplement  those  efforts  by  providing  as  a  proper  con- 
sort for  it  a  merchant  marine  amply  sufficient  for  our 
own  carrying  trade  to  foreign  countries.  The  ques- 
tion is  one  that  appeals  both  to  our  business  neces- 
sities and  the  patriotic  aspirations  of  a  great  people. 

It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  United  Stat.es  since 
the  foundation  of  the  Government,  to  cultivate  rela- 
tions of  peace  and  amity  with  all  the  nations  of  the 
world,  and  this  accords  with  my  conception  of  our 
duty  now. 

We  have  cherished  the  policy  of  non-interference 
with  the  affairs  of  foreign  Governments,  wisely  in- 
augurated by  Washington,  keeping  ourselves  free  from 
entaglement  either  as  allies  or  foes,  content  to  leave 
undisturbed  with  them  the  settlement  of  their  own 
domestic  concerns. 

It  will  be  our  aim  to  pursue  a  firm  and  dignified 
foreign  policy,  which  shall  be  just,  impartial,  ever 
watchful  of  our  national  honor,  and  always  insisting 
upon  the  enforcement  of  the  lawful  rights  of  Ameri- 
can citizens  everywhere. 

We  want  no  wars  of  conquest ;  we  must  avoid  the 
temptation  of  territorial  aggression.  War  should 


McKIXLEY'S  IXAUGURAL  ADDRESS          441 

never  be  entered  upon  until  every  agency  of  peace 
has  failed;  peace  is  preferable  to  war  in  almost  every 
contingency. 

Arbitration  is  the  true  method  of  settlement  of  in- 
ternational, as  well  as  local  or  individual  differences. 
It  was  recognized  as  the  best  means  of  adjustment  of 
differences  between  employers  and  employees  by  the 
Forty-ninth  Congress,  in  1886,  and  its  application 
was  extended  to  our  diplomatic  relations  by  the 
unanimous  concurrence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
the  Fifty-first  Congress  in  1890. 

The  latter  resolution  was  accepted  as  the  basis  of 
negotiations  with  us  by  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons, in  1893,  and  upon  our  invitation  a  treaty  of 
arbitration  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  was  signed  at  Washington  and  transmitted 
to  the  Senate  for  its  ratification  in  January  last. 

Since  this  treaty  is  clearly  the  result  of  our  own 
initiative ;  since  it  has  been  recognized  as  the  leading 
feature  of  our  foreign  policy  throughout  our  entire 
national  history — the  adjustment  of  difficulties  by 
judicial  methods  rather  than  force  of  arms — and 
since  it  presents  to  the  world  the  glorious  example  of 
reason  and  peace,  not  passion  and  war,  controlling 
the  relations  between  two  of  the  greatest  nations  of 
the  world,  an  example  certain  to  be  followed  by 
others,  I  respectfully  urge  the  early  action  of  the 
Senate  thereon,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  policy  but 
as  a  duty  to  mankind. 

The  importance  and  moral  influence  of  the  ratifi- 


442         McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

cation  of  such  a  treaty  can  hardly  be  overestimated 
in  the  cause  of  advancing  civilization.  It  may  well 
engage  the  best  thought  of  the  statesmen  and  people 
of  every  country,  and  I  cannot  but  consider  it  fortu- 
nate that  it  was  reserved  to  the  United  States  to 
have  the  leadership  in  so  grand  a  work. 

It  has  been  the  uniform  practice  of  each  President 
to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  convening  of  Congress 
in  extraordinary  session.  It  is  an  example  which, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  in  the  absence  of 
a  public  necessity,  is  to  be  commended. 

But  a  failure  to  convene  the  representatives  of  the 
people  in  Congress  in  extra  session  when  it  involves 
neglect  of  a  public  duty  places  the  responsibility  of 
such  neglect  upon  the  Executive  himself. 

The  condition  of  the  public  Treasury,  as  has  been 
indicated,  demands  the  immediate  consideration  of 
Congress. 

It  alone  has  the  power  to  provide  revenues  for  the 
Government.  Not  to  convene  it  under  such  circum- 
stances I  can  view  in  no  other  sense  than  the  neglect 
of  a  plain  duty. 

I  do  not  sympathize  with  the  sentiment  that  Con- 
gress in  session  is  dangerous  to  our  general  business 
interests.  Its  members  are  the  agents  of  the  people, 
and  their  presence  at  the  seat  of  government  in  the 
execution  of  the  sovereign  will  should  not  operate  as 
an  injury,  but  a  benefit. 

There  could  be  no  better  time  to  put  the  Govern- 
ment upon  a  sound  financial  and  economic  basis  than 


McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS          443 

now.  The  people  have  only  recently  voted  that  this 
should  be  done,  and  nothing  is  more  binding  upon 
the  agents  of  their  will  than  the  obligation  of  imme- 
diate action. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  postponement 
of  the  meeting  of  Congress  until  more  than  a  year 
after  it  has  been  chosen  deprived  Congress  too  often 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  popular  will,  and  the  coun- 
try of  the  corresponding  benefits. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  to  postpone  action  in 
the  presence  of  so  great  a  necessity  would  be  unwise 
on  the  part  of  the  Executive  because  unjust  to  the 
interests  of  the  people. 

Our  actions  now  will  be  freer  from  mere  partisan 
considerations  than  if  the  question  of  tariff  revision 
was  postponed  until  the  regular  session  of  Congress. 
We  are  nearly  two  years  from  a  Congressional  elec- 
tion, and  politics  cannot  so  greatly  distract  us  as  if 
such  contest  was  immediately  pending.  We  can  ap- 
proach the  problem  calmly  and  patriotically  without 
fearing  its  effect  upon  an  early  election. 

Our  fellow-citizens  who  may  disagree  with  us  upon 
the  character  of  this  legislation  prefer  to  have  the 
question  settled  now,  even  against  their  preconceived 
views,  and  perhaps  settled  so  reasonably — and  I  trust 
and  believe  it  will  be — as  to  insure  greater  perma- 
nence, than  to  have  further  uncertainty  menacing 
the  vast  and  varied  business  interests  of  the  United 
States. 

Again,  whatever  action  Congress  may  take  will  be 


444         McKINLEY'S  INAUGUEAL  ADDEESS 

given  a  fair  opportunity  for  trial  before  the  people  are 
called  to  pass  judgment  upon  it;  and  this  I  consider 
a  great  essential  to  the  rightful  and  lasting  settle- 
ment of  the  question. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  I  shall  deem  it  my 
duty  as  President  to  convene  Congress  in  extraordin- 
ary session  on  Monday,  the  15th  day  of  March. 

In  conclusion,  I  congratulate  the  country  upon  the 
fraternal  spirit  of  the  people  and  the  manifestations 
of  good-will  everywhere  so  apparent.  The  recent 
election  not  only  most  fortunately  demonstrated  the 
obliteration  of  sectional  or  geographical  lines,  but  to 
some  extent  also  the  prejudices  which  for  years  have 
distracted  our  councils  and  marred  our  true  greatness 
as  a  nation. 

The  triumph  of  the  people,  whose  verdict  is  car- 
ried into  effect  to-day,  is  not  the  triumph  of  one  sec- 
tion, nor  wholly  of  one  party,  but  of  all  sections  and 
all  the  people. 

The  North  and  the  South  no  longer  divide  on  the 
old  lines,  but  upon  principles  and  policies ;  and  in 
this  fact  surely  every  lover  of  the  country  can  find 
cause  for  true  felicitation.  Let  us  rejoice  in  and  cul- 
tivate this  spirit;  it  is  ennobling,  and  will  be  both  a 
gain  and  blessing  to  our  beloved  country. 

It  will  be  my  constant  aim  to  do  nothing,  and  per- 
mit nothing  to  be  done,  that  will  arrest  or  disturb 
this  growing  sentiment  of  unity  and  co-operation,  this 
revival  of  esteem  and  affiliation  which  now  animates 
so  many  thousands  in  both  the  old  antagonistic  sec- 


McKINLEY'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  ' ir> 

tions,  but  I  shall  cheerfully  do  everything  possible  to 
promote  and  increase  it. 

Let  me  again  repeat  the  words  of  the  oath  admin- 
istered by  the  Chief  Justice,  which,  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres,  so  far  as  applicable,  I  would  have  all 
my  countrymen  observe  : 

"  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States." 

This  is  the  obligation  I  have  reverently  taken  be- 
fore the  Lord  Most  High.  To  keep  it  will  be  my 
single  purpose ;  my  constant  prayer — and  I  shall 
confidently  rely  upon  the  forbearance  and  assistance 
of  all  the  people  in  the  discharge  of  my  solemn  re- 
sponsibilities. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION. 

President  McKinley's  Administration  endorsed  by  his  unanimous  nomi- 
nation for  a  Second  Term—Governor  Roosevelt  the  choice  for 
Vice-President. 

McKINLEY  and  Roosevelt  were  nominated 
at  Philadelphia  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  respectively,  not  in  a  stampede, 
but  in  a  formal  manner,  showing  that  each  was  the 
deliberate  choice  of  the  Convention. 

No  other  candidate  than  McKinley  was  considered 
for  President.  No  other  candidate  than  Roosevelt 
was  considered  for  Vice-President. 

McKinley  got  all  the  926  votes  in  the  Convention. 
Roosevelt  got  all  but  one.  His  was  the  one  vote 
not  cast. 

To  the  end  he  remained  sincere  in  his  belief  that 
somebody  else  ought  to  be  nominated,  and  he  carried 
home  with  him  the  satisfying  knowledge  that  he  was 
the  only  anti-Roosevelt  delegate  in  the  Convention. 
The  concluding  session  of  the  Convention  took  on 
in  a  supreme  measure  the  character  of  a  great  Repub- 

44G 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION.         417 

lican  jubilee.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  stood 
up  when  McKinley  was  placed  in  nomination  by  the 
dashing  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  and  the  standards  of  all 
the  States  traveled  to  the  stage,  where  they  were 
grouped. 

Mark  Hanna  led  the  cheering  and  waved  a  bunch 
of  pampas  grass  tied  to  the  end  of  a  broomstick. 
The  demonstration  lasted  nearly  ten  minutes. 

Governor  Roosevelt's  speech  seconding  McKinley's 
nomination  was  the  signal  for  another  demonstra- 
tion. The  Governor  made  the  best  speech  of  the  day. 
It  was  broad,  thoughtful,  patriotic  and  eloquent. 

He  drove  his  knife  deep  into  the  Democracy,  and 
when  he  concluded  the  leaders  knew  they  had  on 
the  ticket  the  man  to  answer  Bryan  should  the  Demo- 
cratic champion  tour  the  country  from  a  rear  plat- 
form. 

When  all  the  speeches  for  McKinley  had  been 
made,  Senator  Lodge,  the  Chairman,  ordered  the  roll 
of  the  States  to  be  called  for  a  ballot.  There  was 
no  other  candidate,  but  it  had  been  determined  to 
make  the  result  formal  and  clinching.  The  chairman 

^ 

of  each  State  delegation  arose  and  cast  the  solid  vote 
of  the  State  for  McKinley,  and  he  was  declared 
nominated. 

The  nomination  of  Governor  Roosevelt  for  Vice- 
President  was  made  amid  scenes  of  great  enthusiasm. 
The  Governor  was  the  one  popular  idol  in  the  Con- 
vention. He  was  placed  in  nomination  by  Iowa. 

Colonel  "Lafe"  Young,  an  Iowa  editor,  who  was 


448         THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION. 

in  Cuba  as  a  war  correspondent,  made  the  speech. 
The  nomination  was  seconded  by  Murray,  of  -Massa- 
chusetts, Governor  Mount,  of  Indiana,  and  Chauncey 
M.  Depew,  of  New  York. 

This,  briefly,  is  the  story  of  the  great  Convention 
of  Republicans  in  Philadelphia,  and  does  not  tell  in 
detail  of  the  enormous  enthusiasm  when  the  Presi- 
dential and  Vice-Presidential  candidates  were  unani- 
mously chosen  by  their  party,  nor  of  the  bands  and 
the  flags,  the  fair  women  and  brave  men  gathered 
together  to  witness  and  be  parties  to  an  event 
historic,  a  period  followed  by  new  sentences  to  be 
written  in  gold  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  United 
States. 

It  was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  great 
hall  was  crowded  to  its  full  capacity,  and  though 
there  was  not  the  uncertainty  that  makes  nomina- 
tions largely  like  races,  spectacular  and  exciting,  yet 
th6re  was  something  better  than  chance,  the  cer- 
tainty that  two  great  men  were  to  be  nominated  by 
their  party  for  the  two  most  distinguished  offices  in 
the  gift  of  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States." 
The  people  were  there  in  great  numbers  ready  to 
voice  their  approval  of  what  was  certain,  and 
they  had  not  lost  their  enthusiasm  because  there  was 
to  be  no  fight,  for  they  were  there  to  hail  the  victors 
of  fights  already  won  in  peace  and  war.  There 
could  have  been  nothing  more  inspiring  than  these 
delegates  with  the  names  of  their  glorious  States 
above  them,  stars  in  the  firmament  of  the  federation,, 


THE   PHILADELPHIA   CONVENTION.         449 

and  the  other  representatives  of  a  representative 
government,  the  crowds  in  the  galleries,  those  who 
chose  the  choosers  and  those  who  were  to  choose, 
and  all  of  one  mind.  It  was  splendidly  American 
and  unusually  American,  for  in  this  country  of  free 
speech  and  free  thought  we  are  so  apt  to  differ  that 
this  great  gathering,  eager  and  ready  to  pronounce 
its  unanimity  of  thought,  was  there  awaiting  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention. 

The  Chairman  does  not  have  to  rap  twice  for 
order  when  there  is  perfect  silence,  the  stillness  of 
those  who  are  eager  to  cheer  for  their  champion  but 
are  orderly  that  they  may  hear  the  clear  words  of 
his  nomination.  The  entire  hall  catches  the  Chair- 
man's words :  "  The  next  business  before  the  Con- 
vention is  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  President, 
and  the  Secretaiy  will  call  the  roll  of  States." 

"Alabama,"  reads  the  stout-lunged  Secretaiy. 

"Alabama  gives  way  to  Ohio,"  replies  the  chair- 
man of  the  delegation. 

"Alabama  gives  way  to  Ohio  and  the  Chair  recog- 
nizes Senator  Foraker,  of  Ohio,"  repeats  Senator 
Lodge,  giving  each  word  due  emphasis. 

Now  a  mighty  cheer  shakes  the  house  as  the 
white-haired  orator  of  the  Buckeye  State  comes  up 
the  aisle.  Delegates  are  shouting  and  throwing  up 
their  hats.  Two  or  three  are  waving  flags,  hundreds 
are  shaking  red,  white  and  blue  plumes  that  have 
appeared  from  somewhere.  It  is  but  the  beginning. 
There  is  a  lull  at  last,  and  the  Senator  begins  his 
brilliant  speech. 


450        THE  PHILADELPPIIA  CONVENTION. 

It  is  cleverly  prepared,  punctuated  with  dramatic 
bits  that  serve  to  uncork  the  enthusiasm.  He  men- 
tions the  name  of  Blaine — that  name  that  has  always 
been  one  to  conjure  with — and  the  house  is  in  an 
uproar. 

SENATOR  FORAKEE'S  SPEECH. 

"Alabama  yields  to  Ohio,  and  I  thank  Alabama 
for  that  accommodation.  Alabama  has  so  yielded, 
however,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  would  seem  im- 
portant to  make  the  duty  that  has  been  assigned  to 
me  superfluous,  for  Alabama  has  yielded  because  of 
the  fact  that  our  candidate  for  the  Presidency  has  in 
fact  been  already  nominated.  He  was  nominated  by 
the  distinguished  Senator  from  Colorado  when  he 
assumed  the  duties  of  Temporary  Chairman.  He 
was  nominated  again  yesterday  by  the  distinguished 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  when  he  took  the  office 
of  Permanent  Chairman,  and  he  was  nominated  for  a 
third  time  when  the  Senator  from  Indiana  yesterday 
read  us  the  platform,  and  not  only  has  he  been  thus 
nominated  by  this  Convention  but  he  has  also  been 
nominated  by  the  whole  American  people.  From 
one  end  of  this  land  to  the  other,  in  every  mind,  only 
one  and  the  same  man  is  thought  of  for  the  honor 
which  we  are  now  about  to  confer,  and  that  man  is 
the  first  choice  of  every  other  man  who  wishes 
Republican  success  next  November.  [Applause.] 
Oh  this  account  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  or  any  one 
else  to  speak  for  him  here  or  elsewhere.  He  has 


THE   PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION.         451 

already  spoken  for  himself  and  to  all  the  world.  He 
has  a  record  replete  with  brilliant  achievements 
[applause],  a  record  that  speaks  at  once  both  his 
performances  and  is  his  highest  eulogy.  It  compre- 
hends both  peace  and  war,  and  constitutes  the  most 
striking  illustration  possible  of  triumphant  and 
inspiriting  fidelity  and  success  in  the  discharge  of 
public  duty. 

"  Four  years  ago  the  American  people  confided  to 
him  their  highest  and  most  sacred  trust.  Behold 
with  what  results !  He  found  the  industries  of  this 
countiy  paralyzed  and  prostrated;  he  quickened 
them  with  a  new  life  that  has  brought  to  the 
American  people  a  prosperity  unprecedented  in  all 
their  history.  He  found  the  labor  of  this  country 
everywhere  idle ;  he  has  given  it  everywhere  employ- 
ment. He  found  it  everywhere  in  despair;  he  has 
made  it  everywhere  prosperous  and  buoyant  with 
hope.  He  found  the  mills  and  shops  and  factories 
and  mines  everywhere  closed ;  they  are  now  every- 
where open.  [Applause.] 

"  And  while  we  here  deliberate,  they  are  sejding 
their  surplus  products  in  commercial  conquest  to  the 
very  ends  of  the  earth.      Under  his  wise  guidance, 
our  financial  standard  has  been  firmly  planted  high 
above  and  beyond  assault  and  the  wild  cry  of  16  to  I 
so  full  of  terror  and  long  hair  in  1896,  has  been  put 
to  everlasting  sleep  alongside  of  the  lost  cause,  and 
other  cherished   Democratic   heresies,  in  the   cata- 
combs of  American  politics.     [Applause.]     With  a 


452        THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION. 

diplomacy  never  excelled  and  rarely  equaled,  he 
has  overcome  what  at  times  seemed  to  be  insur- 
mountable difficulties  and  has  not  only  opened  to  us 
the  door  of  China  but  he  has  advanced  our  interests 
in  every  land. 

"  We  are  not  surprised  by  this,  for  we  anticipated 
it  all.  When  we  nominated  him  at  St.  Louis  four 
years  ago,  we  knew  he  was  wise,  we  knew  he  was 
brave,  we  knew  he  was  patient,  we  knew  he  would 
be  faithful  and  devoted,  and  we  knew  that  the 
greatest  possible  triumphs  of  peace  would  be  his; 
but  we  then  little  knew  that  he  would  be  called 
upon  to  encounter  also  the  trials  of  war!  That 
unusual  emergency  came.  It  came  unexpectedly — 
as  wars  generally  come.  It  came  in  spite  of  all  he 
could  'honorably  do  to  avert  it.  It  came  to  find  the 
country  unprepared  for  it,  but  it  found  him  equal  to 
all  its  extraordinary  requirements.  [Applause.] 

"And  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  in  all 
American  history  there  is  no  chapter  more  brilliant 
than  that  which  chronicles,  with  him  as  our  com- 
mander-in-chief,  our  victory  on  land  and  sea.  [Ap- 
plause.] In  100  days  we  drove  Spain  from  the 
western  hemisphere,  girded  the  earth  with  our 
acquisition  and  filled  the  world  with  the  splendor  of 
our  power.  [Applause.]  The  American  name  has 
a  new  and  greater  significance  now.  Our  flag  has  a 
Dew  glory.  It  not  only  symbolizes  human  liberty 
and  political  equality  at  home,  but  it  means  freedom 
and  independence  for  the  long-suffering  patriots  of 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVEXTION.         453 

Cuba,  and  complete  protection,  education  and  enlight- 
enment, and  ultimate  local  self-government  and  the 
enjoyment  of  all  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  the  mill- 
ions of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines.  "What  we 
have  so  gloriously  done  for  ourselves,  we  propose 
most  generously  to  do  for  them.  [Applause.]  We 
have  so  declared  in  the  platform  that  we  have 
adopted. 

"  A  fitting  place  it  is  for  the  party  to  make  such  a 
declaration.  Here  in  this  magnificent  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, where  the  evidences  so  abound  of  the  rich 
blessings  the  Republican  party  has  brought  to  the 
American  people;  here  at  the  birthplace  of  the 
Nation,  where  our  own  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  adopted  and  our  Constitution  formed;  where 
Washington  and  Jefferson  and  Hancock  and  John 

o 

Adams  and  their  illustrious  associates  wrought  their 
immortal  work ;  here  where  center  so  many  historic 
memories  that  stir  the  blood  and  flush  the  cheek  and 
excite  the  sentiments  of  human  liberty  and  patriot- 
ism, is  indeed  a  most  fitting  place  for  the  party  of 
Lincoln  and  Grant  and  Garfield  and  Elaine.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

"  The  party  of  union  and  liberty  for  all  men  for- 
mally  dedicates  itself  to  this  great  duty.  We  are 
now  in  the  midst  of  its  discharge.  We  could  not 
turn  back  if  we  would,  and  we  would  not  if  we 
could.  [Applause.]  We  are  on  trial  before  the 
world  and  must  triumphantly  meet  our  responsibili- 
ties or  ignominiously  fail  in  the  presence  of  mankind. 


454        THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION. 

These  responsibilities  speak  to  this  Convention  here 
and  now,  and  command  us  that  we  choose  to  be  our 
candidate  and  the  next  President — which  is  one  and 
the  same  thing- — the  best  fitted  man  for  the  discharge 
of  this  great  duty  in  all  the  Republic.  [Applause.] 

"  On  that  point  there  is  no  difference  of  opinion. 
No  man  in  all  the  Nation  is  so  well  qualified  for  this 
trust  as  the  great  leader  under  whom  the  work  has 
been  so  far  conducted.  He  has  the  head,  he  has  the 
heart,  he  has  the  special  knowledge  and  the  special 
experience  that  qualify  him  beyond  all  others.  And 
he  has  also  the  stainless  reputation  and  character 
and  has  led  the  blameless  life  that  endear  him  to  his 
countrymen  and  give  to  him  the  confidence,  the 
respect,  the  admiration,  the  love  and  the  affection  of 
the  whole  American  people.  [Applause.]  He  is  an 
ideal  man,  representing  the  highest  type  of  American 
citizenship,  an  ideal  candidate  and  an  ideal  Presi- 
dent. With  our  banner  in  his  hands  it  will  be  car- 
ried to  triumphant  victory  in  November  next. 
[Applause.] 

"  In  the  name  of  all  these  considerations,  not  alone 
on  behalf  of  his  beloved  State  of  Ohio,  but  on  behalf 
r  of  every  other  state  and  territory  here  represented, 
and  in  the  name  of  all  Republicans  everywhere 
throughout  our  jurisdiction,  I  nominate  to  be  our  next 
candidate  for  the  Presidency,  William  McKinley." 

The  safety  valve  is  off.  A  cheer  starts  and  grows 
to  a  roar  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Delegates  jump  to 
their  feet.  A  sea  of  flags,  plumes,  umbrellas  and 


THE   PHILADELPHIA  CONVENTION.        455 

hats  are  waving  in  air.  Hanna,  all  smiles,  rashes  to 
the  front  of  the  stage.  "  Get  up!  Get  up !"  he  calls, 
waving  his  hands. 

But  they  were  all  up  before  he  had  spoken,  shout- 
ing, cheering,  singing,  praising  at  the  expense  of 
their  throats  their  President  now  and  to  be  ao-ain 

o 

elected.  The  band  strikes  up  "  Glory !  Glory ! 
Glory  Hallelujah!"  and  pandemonium  is  loosed 
again.  Dignified  Senators  stand  on  one  another's 
backs  and  yell  like  schoolboys.  As  if  by  one 
thought  a  half-hundred  hands  grab  the  standards 
that  bear  the  names  of  the  different  States  and  wave 
them  in  air. 

The  standard-bearers  now,  with  common  purpose, 
rush  to  the  center  aisle  and  come  marching  up  to  the 
stage,  where  they  range  themselves  in  a  spectacular 
pyramid  as  the  storm  still  rages.  The  men  with  the 
standards  file  down  again  and  start  to  march  round 
the  aisles.  There  is  a  great  rush  for  the  honor  of 
leading  the  procession.  Now  Pennsylvania  is  in  the 
lead.  No !  Ohio  has  overtaken  it  and  they  are  racing 
nip  and  tuck  down  the  side  aisle.  The  other  States 
are  after  them  pell  mell,  It  is  a  regular  foot  race. 
But  exhaustion  compels  the  enthusiasm  to  stop  and 
the  tumult  finally  ends. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

Permanent  Chairman  of  the  Republican  Convention  outlines  the  position 
of  the  Republican  party — A  scholarly  effort  and  a  concise 
statement. 

THE  Republican  National  Convention  of  1900 
was  held  in  Philadelphia,  beginning  June 
19  and  continuing  three  days.     The  second 
day  the  report  of  the  Committee   on   Permanent 
Organization  was  adopted,  making  Senator  Lodge,  of 
Massachusetts,  the  Permanent  Chairman.     Senator 
Lodge  was  at  once  escorted  to  the  chair  by  Governor 
Roosevelt,  of  New  York,  and  Governor  Shaw,  of 
Iowa.     He  was  introduced  and  began  his  speech. 

Senator  Lodge's  speech  was  not  only  a  scholarly 
effort,  but  it  may  be  taken  as  a  history  of  President 
McKinley's  first  administration  and  as  defining  the 
Republican  position  on  the  issues  in. the  campaign 
of  1900. 

SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

"One  of  the  greatest  honors  that  can  fall  to  any 
American  in  public  life  is  to  be  called  to  preside 

456 


SENATOR   LODGE'S   SPEECH.  4.17 

over  a  Kepublican  National  Convention.  How 
great  the  honor  is  you  know,  but  cannot  realize,  nor 
can  I  express  the  gratitude  which  I  feel  to  you  for 
having  conferred  it  upon  me.  I  can  only  say  to  you, 
in  the  simplest  phrase,  that  I  thank  you  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart.  '  Beggar  that  I  am,  I  am  even 
poor  in  thanks,  and  yet  I  thank  you.' 

"  We  meet  again  to  nominate  the  next  President 
of  the  United  States.  Four  years  have  passed  since 
we  nominated  the  soldier  and  statesman  who  is  now 
President,  and  who  is  soon  to  enter  upon  his  second 
term.  Since  the  civil  war  no  Presidential  term  has 
been  so  crowded  with  great  events  as  that  which  is 
now  drawing  to  a  close.  They  have  been  four 
memorable  years.  To  Republicans  they  show  a 
record  of  promises  kept,  of  work  done,  of  unforeseen 
questions  met  and  answered.  To  the  Democrats 
they  have  been  generous  in  the  exhibition  of  unful- 
filled predictions,  in  the  ruin  of  their  hopes  of 
calamity  and  in  futile  opposition. to  the  forces  of  the 
times  and  the  aspirations  of  the  American  people. 
I  wish  I  could  add  that  they  had  been  equally 
instructive  to  our  opponents,  but  while  it  is  true  that 
the  Democrats,  like  the  Bourbons,  learn  nothing,  it 
is  only  too  evident  that  the  familiar  comparison  can- 
not be  completed,  for  they  forget  a  great  deal  which 
it  Avouldrbe  well  for  them  to  remember.- 

"  In  1897  we  took  the  Government  and  the  country 
from  the  hands  of  President  Cleveland.  His  party 
had  abandoned  him  and  were  joined  to  their  idols, 


458  SENATOE  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

of  which  he  was  no  longer  one.  During  the  last 
years  of  his  term  we  had  presented  to  us  the  melan- 
choly spectacle  of  a  President  trying  to  govern  with- 
out a  party.  The  result  was  that  his  policies  were 
in  ruin,  legislation  was  at  a  standstill  and  public 
affairs  were  in  a  perilous  and  incoherent  condition. 
Party  responsibilities  had  vanished,  and  with  it  all 
possibility  of  intelligent  action  demanded  by  the 
country  at  home  and  abroad.  It  was  an  interesting, 
but  by  no  means  singular  display  of  Democratic 
unfitness  for  the  practical  work  of  government.  To 
the  political  student  it  was  instructive ;  to  the  coun- 
try it  was  extremely  painful ;  to  business,  disastrous. 
"  We  replaced  this  political  chaos  with  a  President 
in  thorough  accord  with  his  party,  and  the  machinery 
of  government  began  again  to  move  smoothly  and 
effectively.  Thus  we  kept  at  once  our  promise  of 
better  and  more  efficient  administration.  In  four 
months  after  the  inauguration  of  President  McKinley 
we  had  passed  a  tariff  bill.  For  ten  years  the  arti- 
ficial agitation  in  behalf  of  what  was  humorously 
called  tariff  reform,  and  of  what  was  really  free 
trade,  had  kept  business  in  a  foment  and  had  brought 
a  treasury  deficit,  paralyzed  industries,  depression 
panic  and  finally  continuous  bad  times  to  a  degree 
never  before  imagined.  Would  you  know  the  result 
of  our  tariff  legislation,  look  about  you.  Would  you 
measure  its  success,  recollect  that  it  is  no  longer  an 
issue,  that  our  opponents,  free  traders  as  they  are,  do 
not  dare  to  make  it  an  issue,  that  there  is  not  a  State 


SENATOR  LODGE'S   SPEECH.  459 

in  the  Union  to-day  which  could  be  carried  for  free 
trade  against  protection.  Never  was  a  policy  more 
fully  justified  by  its  works,  never  was  a  promise 
made  by  any  party  more  absolutely  fulfilled. 

"Dominant  among  the  issues  of  four  years  ago 
was  that  of  our  monetary  and  financial  system.  The 
Republican  party  promised  to  uphold  our  credit,  to 
protect  our  currency  from  revolution  and  to  maintain 
the  gold  standard.  We  have  done  so.  We  have 
done  more.  We  have  been  better  than  our  promise. 
Failing  to  secure,  after  honest  effort,  any  encourage- 
ment for  international  bimetallism,  we  have  passed  a 
law  strengthening  the  gold  standard  and  planting  it 
firmer  than  ever  in  our  financial  system,  improving 
our  banking  laws,  buttressing  our  credit  and  refund- 
ing the  public  debt  at  2  per  cent,  interest,  the  lowest 
rate  in  the  world.  It  was  a  great  work  well  done. 
The  only  argument  the  Democrats  can  advance  to- 
day in  their  own  behalf  on  the  money  question  is 
that  a  Republican  Senate,  in  the  event  of  Democratic 
success,  would  not  permit  the  repeal  of  a  Republican 
law.  This  is  a  precious  argument  when  looked  at 
with  considerate  eyes  and  quite  worthy  of  the  intel- 
lects which  produced  it.  Apply  it  generally.  Upon 
this  theory  because  we  have  defeated  the  soldiers  of 
Spain  and  sunk  her  ships  we  can  with  safety  dispense 
with  the  army  and  the  navy  which  did  the  work. 
Take  another  example :  There  has  been  a  fire  in  a 
great  city ;  it  has  been  checked  and  extinguished ; 
therefore  let  us  abolish  the  fire  department  and  cease 


4GO  SENATOK  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

to  insure  our  homes.  Distrust  in  our  currency,  the 
dread  of  change,  the  deadly  fear  of  a  debased  stand- 
ard, were  raging  four  years  ago  and  business  lay 
prostrate  before  them.  Eepublican  supremacy  and 
Republican  legislation  have  extinguished  the  fires  of 
debt  and  fear,  and  business  has  risen  triumphant 
from  the  ashes.  Therefore  abolish  your  fire  depart- 
ment,, turn  out  the  Republicans  and  put  in  power 
the  incendiaries  who  lighted  the  flames  and  trust 
what  remains  of  Republican  control  to  avert  fresh 
disaster.  The  proposition  is  its  own  refutation. 
The  supremacy  of  the  party  that  has  saved  the 
standard  of  sound  money  and  guarded  it  by  law  is 
as  necessary  for  its  security  and  for  the  existence  of 
honest  wages  and  of  business  confidence  now  as  it 
was  in  1896. 

"  The  moment  the  Republican  party  passes  from 
power  and  the  party  of  free  silver  and  fiat  paper 
comes  in,  stable  currency  and  the  gold  standard,  the 
standard  of  the  civilized  world,  are  in  imminent  and 
deadly  peril.  Sound  currency  and  a  steady  standard 
of  value  are  to-day  safe  only  in  Republican  hands. 

"But  there  were  still  other  questions  in  1896. 
We  had  already  thwarted  the  efforts  of  the  Cleve- 
land administration  to  throw  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
back  to  their  dethroned  queen  and  to  give  England 
the  foothold  for  her  cables  in  the  group.  We  then 
said  that  we  would  settle  finally  the  Hawaiian  ques- 
tion. We  have  done  so.  The  traditional  American 
policy  has  been  carried  out.  The  flag  of  the  Union 


SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH.  461 

floats  to-day  over  the  cross-roads  of  the  Pacific.  We 
promised  to  deal  with  the  Cuban  question.  Again 
comes  the  reply,  we  have  done  so.  The  long  agony 
of  the  island  is  over;  Cuba  is  free.  But  this  great 
work  brought  with  it  events  and  issues  which  no 
man  had  foreseen,  for  which  no  party  creed  had  pro- 
vided a  policy.  The  crisis  came,  bringing  war  in  its 
train.  The  Republican  President  and  the  Repub- 
lican Congress  met  the  new  trial  in  the  old  spirit. 
We  fought  the  war  with  Spain.  The  result  is  his- 
tory known  of  all  men.  We  have  the  perspective 
now  of  only  a  short  two  years,  and  yet  how  clear 
and  how  bright  the  great  facts  stand  out,  like  moun- 
tain peaks  against  the  sky,  while  the  gathering 
darkness  of  a  just  oblivion  is  creeping  fast  over  the 
low  grounds  where  lie  forgotten  the  trivial  and  unim- 
portant things,  the  criticisms  and  the  fault-findings 
which  seemed  so  huge  when  we  still  lingered  among 
them.  Here  they  are,  these  great  facts:  A  war 
of  a  hundred  days,  with  many  victories  and  no 
defeats,  with  no  prisoners  taken  from  us  and  no 
advance  stayed,  with  a  triumphant  outcome  start- 
ling in  its  completeness  and  in  its  world-wide 
meaning.  Was  ever  a  war  more  justly  entered 
upon,  more  successfully  fought,  more  fully  won, 
more  thorough  in  its  results  ?  Cuba  is  free.  Spain 
has  been  driven  from  the  western  hemisphere. 
Fresh  glory  has  come  to  our  arms  and  crowned  our 
flag.  It  was  the  work  of  the  American  people,  but 
the  Republican  party  was  their  instrument.  Have 


462  SENATOE  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

we  not  the  right  to  say  that  here,  too,  even  as  in  the 
days  of  Lincoln,  we  have  fought  a  good  fight ;  we 
have  kept  the  faith ;  we  have  finished  the  work. 

"War,  however,  is  ever  like  the  sword  of  Alex- 
ander. It  cuts  the  knots.  It  is  a  great  solvent  and 
brings  many  results  not  to  be  foreseen.  The  world 
forces,  unchained  in  war,  perform  in  hours  the  work 
of  years  of  quiet.  Spain  sued  for  peace.  How  was 
that  peace  to  be  made  ?  The  answer  to  this  great 
question  had  to  be  given  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  We  were  victorious  in  Cuba,  in 
Porto  Rico,  in  the  Philippines.  Should  we  give  those 
islands  back  to  Spain  ?  Never,  was  the  President's 
reply.  Would  any  American  wish  that  he  had 
answered  otherwise  ?  Should  we  hand  them  over  to 
some  other  power?  Never,  was  again  the  answer. 
Would  our  pride  and  self-respect  as  a  Nation  have 
submitted  to  any  other  reply  ?  Should  we  turn  the 
islands,  where  we  had  destroyed  all  existing  sov- 
ereignty, loose  upon  the  world  to  be  a  prey  to 
domestic  anarchy  and  the  helpless  spoil  of  some 
other  nation?  Again  the  inevitable  negative. 
Again  the  President  answered  as  the  Nation  he  rep- 
resented would  have  him  answer.  He  boldly  took 
the  islands,  took  them  knowing  well  the  burden  and 
responsibility,  took  them  with  a  deep  sense  of  duty 
to  ourselves  and  others,  guided  by  a  just  foresight  as 
to  our  future  in  the  East,  and  with  an  entire  faith  in 
the  ability  of  the  American  people  to  grapple  with 
the  new  task.  When  future  Conventions  point  to 


SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH.  4(':; 

the  deeds  by  which  the  Republican  party  has  made 
history,  they  will  proclaim  with  special  pride  that 
under  a  Republican  administration  the  war  of  'i>s 
was  fought  and  that  the  peace  with  Spain  was  the 
work  of  William  McKinley.  So  much  for  the 
past.  We  are  proud  of  it,  but  we  do  not  expect 
to  live  upon  it,  for  the  Republican  party  is  pre- 
eminently the  party  of  action,  and  its  march  is  ever 
forward.  We  are  not  so  made  that  we  can  be  con- 
tent to  retreat  or  to  mark  time.  ,The  traditions  of 
the  early  days  of  our  party  are  sacred  to  us,  and  are 
hostages  given  to  the  American  people  that  we  will 
will  not  be  unworthy  of  the  great  leaders  who  have 
gone.  The  deeds  of  yesterday  are  in  their  turn  a 
pledge  and  a  proof  of  what  we  promise  we  perform, 
and  that  the  people  who  put  faith  in  our  declarations 
in  1896  were  not  deceived  and  may  place  the  same 
trust  in  us  in  1900.  But  our  pathway  has  never  lain 
among  dead  issues,  nor  have  we  won  our  victories 
and  made  history  by  delving  in  political  graveyards. 
We  are  the  party  of  to-day,  with  cheerful  yesterdays 
and  confident  to-morrows.  The  living  present  is 
ours,  the  present  of  prosperity  and  activity  in  bn.>i- 
ness,  of  good  wages  and  quick  payments,  of  labor 
employed  and  capital  invested ;  of  sunshine  in  the 
market-place  and  the  stir  of  abounding  life  in  the 
workshop  and  on  the  farm.  It  is  with  this  that  we 
have  replaced  the  depression,  the  doubts,  the  dull 
business,  the  low  wages,  the  idle  labor,  the  frightened 
capital,  the  dark  clouds  which  overhung  industry 


464  SENATOE  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

and  agriculture  in  1896.  This  is  what  we  would 
preserve,  so  far  as  sound  government  and  wise  legis- 
lation can  do.  This  is  what  we  brought  to  the 
country  four  years  ago.  This  is  what  we  offer  now. 
Again  we  promise  that  the  protective  system  shall 
be  maintained  and  that  our  great  industrial  interests 
shall  go  on  their  way  unshaken  by  the  dire  fear  of 
tariff  agitation  and  of  changing  duties.  Again  we 
declare  that  we  will  guard  the  national  credit,  up- 
hold a  sound  currency  based  on  gold,  and  keep  the 
wages  of  the  workingman  and  the  enterprise  of  the 
man  of  business  free  from  that  most  deadly  of  all 
evils,  a  fluctuating  standard  of  value.  The  deficit 
which  made  this  great  country  in  a  time  of  profound 
peace  a  borrower  of  money  to  meet  its  current  ex- 
penses has  been  replaced  by  abundant  revenue,  bring- 
ing a  surplus,  due  alike  to  prosperity  and  to  wise 
legislation,  so  ample  that  we  can  now  safely  promise 
a  large  reduction  of  taxation  without  imperiling  our 
credit  or  risking  a  resort  to  loans. 

"We  are  prepared  to  take  steps  to  revive  and 
build  up  our  merchant  marine  and  thus  put  into 
American  pockets  the  money  paid  for  carrying 
American  freights.  Out  of  the  abundant  resources 
which  our  financial  legislation  has  brought  us  we 
will  build  -  the  Isthmian  canal,  and  lay  the  cables 
which  will  help  to  turn  the  current  of  eastern  trade 
to  the  Golden  Gate.  We  are  on  good  terms  with  all 
nations,  and  mean  to  remain  so,  while  we  promise  to 
insure  our  peace  and  safety  by  maintaining  the  Mon- 


SENATOR  LODGE'S   SPEECH.  K;:> 

roe  doctrine,  by  ample  coast  defenses  and  by  building 
up  a  navy  which  no  one  can  challenge  with  impunity. 
"  The  new  problems  brought  by  the  war  we  face 
with  confidence  in  ourselves  and  a  still  deeper  confi- 
dence in  the  American  people,  who  will  deal  justly 
and  rightly  with  the  islands  which  have  come  into 
their  charge.  The  outcry  against  our  new  possessions 
is  as  empty  as  the  cant  about  militarism  and  'imperi- 
alism '  is  devoid  of  sense  and  meaning.  Regard  for 
a  moment  those  who  are  loudest  in  shrieking:  that  the 

o 

American  people  are  about  to  enter  upon  a  career  of 
oppression  and  that  the  Republic  is  in  danger. 
Have  they  been  in  the  past  the  guards  of  freedom? 
Is  safety  for  liberty  now  to  be  found  most  surely  in 
the  party  which  was  the  defender  of  domestic  slav- 
ery ?  Is  true  freedom  to  be  secured  by  the  ascend- 
ancy of  the  party  which  beneath  our  very  eyes  seeks 
to  establish  through  infamous  laws  the  despotic  rule 
of  a  small  and  unscrupulous  band  of  usurpers  in 
Kentucky  who  trampled  there,  not  upon  the  rights 
of  the  black  men  only,  but  of  the  whites,  and  which 
seeks  to  extend  the  same  system  to  North  Carolina 
and  Missouri  ?  Has  it  suddenly  come  to  pass  that 
the  Democratic  party  which  to-day  aims  whenever 
it  acquires  power  to  continue  in  office  by  crushing 
out  honest  elections  and  popular  rule;  has  it,  indeed, 
come  to  pass,  I  say,  that  that  party  is  the  chosen  pro- 
tector of  liberty?  If  it  were  so,  the  outlook  would 
be  black  indeed.  No.  The  party  of  Lincoln  may 
be  best  trusted  now,  as  in  the  past,  to  be  true  even 


466  SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH. 

as  lie  was  true,  to  the  rights  of  man  and  to  human 
freedom,  whether  within  the  borders  of  the  United 
States  or  in  the  islands  which  have  come  beneath 
our  flag.  The  liberators  may  be  trusted  to  watch 
over  the  liberated.  We  who  freed  Cuba  will  keep 
the  pledge  we  made  to  her,  and  will  guide  her  along 
the  road  to  independence  and  stable  government 
until  she  is  ready  to  settle  her  own  future  by  the 
free  expression  of  her  people's  will.  We  will  be 
faithful  to  the  trust  imposed  upon  us,  and  if  among 
those  to  whom  this  great  work  is  confided  in  Cuba, 
or  elsewhere,  wrong-doers  shall  be  found,  men  not 
only  bad  in  morals,  but  dead  to  their  duty  as  Amer- 
icans and  false  to  the  honor  of  our  name,  we  will 
punish  these  basest  of  criminals  to  the  extent  of  the 
law. 

"  For  the  islands  of  Hawaii  and  Porto  Rico  the 
political  problem  has  been  solved  and  by  Repub- 
lican legislation  have  been  given  self-government  and 
are  peaceful  and  prosperous  under  the  rule  of  the 
United  States. 

"In  the  Philippines  we  were  met  by  rebellion, 
fomented  by  a  self-seeking  adventurer  and  usurper. 
The  duty  of  the  President  was  to  repress  that 
rebellion,  to  see  that  the  authority  of  the  United 
States  as  rightfully  and  righteous  in  Manila  as  in 
Philadelphia  was  acknowledged  and  obeyed.  That 
harsh  and  painful  duty  President  McKinley  has  per- 
formed firmly  and  justly,  eager  to  resort  to  gentle 
measures  whenever  possible  until  yielding  when 


SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH.  467 

treachery  and  violence  made  force  necessary.  Unlike 
the  opponents  of  expansion,  we  do  not  regard  the 
soldiers  of  Otis,  Lawton  and  MacArthur  as  'an 
enemy's  camp.'  In  our  eyes  they  are  the  soldiers  of 
the  United  States;  they  are  our  army,  and  we  believe 
in  them  and  will  sustain  them.  Even  now  the 
Democrats  are  planning,  if  they  get  control  of  the 
House,  to  cut  off  appropriations  for  the  army  and 
thus  compel  the  withdrawal  of  our  troops  from  the 
Philippines. 

"  The  result  would  be  to  force  the  retirement  of 
such  soldiers  as  would  remain  in  Manila,  and  their 
retreat  would  be  the  signal  for  the  massacre  and 
plunder  of  the  great  body  of  peaceful  inhabitants  of 
the  islands  who  have  trusted  to  us  to  protect  and 
guard  them.  Such  an  event  would  be  an  infamy. 
Is  the  Government,  is  the  House,  to  be  given  over  to 
a  party  capable  of  such  a  policy  ? 

"Shall  they  not  rather  be  intrusted  to  the  party 
which  will  sustain  the  army  and  suppress  the 
brigands  and  guerrillas  who,  under  pretense  of  war, 
are  now  adding  so  freely  to  the  list  of  crimes  com- 
mitted in  the  name  of  liberty  by  usurpers  and  pre- 
tenders, and  who,  buoyed  up  by  Democratic  promises, 
keep  up  a  highwayman's  warfare  in  hope  of  Demo- 
cratic success  in  November  ?  It  is  for  the  American 
people  to  decide  this  question.  Our  position  is  plain. 
The  restoration  of  peace  and  order  now  so  nearly 
reached  in  the  Philippines  shall  be  completed.  Civil 
government  shall  be  established  and  the  people 


468  SENATOR  LODGE'S   SPEECH. 

advanced  as  rapidly  as  possible  along  the  road  to 
entire  freedom  and  to  self-government  under  our  flag. 
We  will  not  abandon  our  task.  We  will  neither 
surrender  nor  retreat.  We  will  not  write  failure 
across  this  page  of  our  history.  We  will  do  our 
duty,  our  full  duty,  to  the  people  of  the  Philippines 
and  strive  by  every  means  to  give  them  freedom, 
contentment  and  prosperity.  We  have  no  belief  in 
the  old  slaveholders'  doctrine  that  the  Constitution  of 
its  own  force  marches  into  every  newly  acquired  ter- 
ritory, and  this  doctrine,  which  we  cast  out  in  1860, 
we  still  reject.  We  do  not  mean  that  the  Philip- 
pines shall  come  without  a  tariff  system  or  become 
part  of  our  body  politic.  We  do  not  mean  that  they 
shall,  under  our  teaching,  learn  to  govern  themselves 
and  remain  under  our  flag  with  the  largest  possible 
measure  of  home  rule.  We  make  no  hypocritical 
pretenses  of  being  interested  in  the  Philippines  solely 
on  account  of  others.  While  we  regard  the  welfare 
of  those  people  as  a  sacred  trust,  we  regard  the  wel- 
fare of  the  American  people  first.  We  see  our  duty 
to  ourselves  as  well  as  to  others.  We  believe  in 
trade  expansion. 

"  By  every  legitimate  means  within  the  province 
of  government  and  legislation  we  mean  to  stimulate 
the  expansion  of  our  trade  and  to  open  new  markets. 
Greatest  of  all  markets  is  China.  Our  trade  there 
is  growing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Manila,  the  prize 
of  war,  gives  us  inestimable  advantages  in  develop- 
ing that  trade.  It  is  the  corner-stone  of  our  Eastern 


SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH.  4C9 

policy,  and  the  brilliant  diplomacy  of  John  Hay  in 
securing  from  all  nations  a  guarantee  of  our  treaty 
rights  and  the  open  door  in  China  rests  upon  it. 
We  ask  the  American  people  whether  they  will 
throw  away  these  new  markets  and  widening  oppor- 
tunities for  trade  and  commerce  by  putting  in  power 
the  Democratic  party,  which  seeks  under  cover  of  a 
newly  discovered  affection  for  the  rights  of  man  to 
give  up  these  islands  of  the  East  and  make  Dewey's 
victory  fruitless?  The  choice  lies  between  this 
Democratic  policy  of  retreat  and  the  Republican 
policy  which  would  hold  the  islands,  give  them  free- 
dom and  prosperity  and  enlarge  those  great  oppor- 
tunities for  ourselves  and  our  posterity.  The  Demo- 
cratic attitude  toward  the  Philippines  rests  wholly 
upon  the  proposition  that  the  American  people  have 
neither  the  capacity  nor  the  honesty  to  deal  rightly 
with  these  islands.  They  assume  that  we  shall  fail. 
They  fall  down  and  worship  a  Chinese  half-breed 
whose  name  they  had  never  heard  three  years  ago, 
and  they  slander  and  cry  down  and  doubt  the  honor 
of  American  soldiers  and  sailors,  of  admirals  and 
generals  and  public  men  who  have  gone  in  and  out 
before  us  during  an  entire  lifetime.  We  are  true  to 
our  own.  We  have  no  distrust  of  the  honor,  the 
humanity,  the  capacity  of  the  American  people.  To 
feel  or  do  otherwise  is  to  doubt  ourselves,  our  Gov- 
ernment and  our  civilization.  We  take  issues  with 
the  Democrats,  who  would  cast  off  the  Philippines 
because  the  American  people  cannot  be  trusted  with 


470  SENATOR  LODGE'S   SPEECH. 

them,  and  we  declare  that  the  American  people  can 
be  trusted  to  deal  justly,  wisely  and  generously  with 
these  distant  islands  and  will  lift  them  up  to  a  higher 
prosperity,  a  broader  freedom  and  a  nobler  civiliza- 
tion than  they  have  ever  known.  We  have  not 
failed  elsewhere.  We  shall  not  fail  here. 

"  Those  are  the  questions  we  present  to  the  Amer. 
lean  people  in  regard  to  the  Philippines.  Do  they 
want  such  a  humiliating  change  there  as  Democratic 
victory  would  bring?  Do  they  want  an  even  more 
radical  change  at  home?  Suppose  the  candidate  of  the 
Democrats,  the  Populists,  the  foes  of  expansion,  the 
dissatisfied  and  the  envious  should  come  into  power, 
what  kind  of  an  administration  would  be  given  us? 
What  would  his  cabinet  be  ?  Think  what  an  elec- 
tric spark  of  confidence  would  run  through  every 
business  interest  in  the  country  when  such  a  cabinet 
was  announced  as  we  can  readily  imagine  he  would 
make.  More  important  still,  we  ask  the  American 
people  whether  they  will  put  in  the  White  House 
the  hero  of  uncounted  platforms,  the  prodigal  spend- 
thrift of  words,  the  champion  of  free  silver,  the 
opponent  of  expansion,  the  assailant  of  the  courts; 
or  whether  they  will  retain  in  the  Presidency  the 
Union  soldier,  the  leader  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, the  trained  statesman  who  has  borne  vic- 
toriously the  heavy  burdens  of  the  last  four  years; 
the  champion  of  protection  and  solid  money;  the 
fearless  supporter  of  law  and  order  wherever  the 
flag  floats? 


SENATOR  LODGE'S  SPEECH.  471 

"  Now,  at  the  dawii  of  a  new  century,  with  new 
policies  and  new  opportunities  opening  before  us  in 
the  bright  sunshine  of  prosperity,  we  again  ask  the 
American  people  to  intrust  us  with  their  future. 
We  have  profound  faith  in  the  people.  We  do  not 
distrust  their  capacity  of  meeting  the  new  responsi- 
bilities, even  as  they  met  the  old,  and  we  shall  await 
with  confidence,  under  the  leadership  of  William 
McKinley,  the  verdict  of  November." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

REPUBLICAN  PLATFOEM  OF  1900. 

Document  of   remarkable   scope   and   certainty — Defines   the  party's 
position  on  every  issue — Adopted  as  read. 

THIS  platform  was  reported  and  read  by  the 
Hon.  Chas.  W.  Fairbanks,  Senator  of  the 
United  States  from  Indiana.  It  is  a  docu- 
ment of  remarkable  scope  and  certainty,  and  if  it 
needs  interpretation  it  must  be  construed  by  the 
record  in  peace  and  war  of  the  first  McKinley 
administration. 

"The  Republicans  of  the  United  States,  through 
chosen  representatives  met  in  National  Convention, 
looking  back  upon  an  unsurpassed  record  of  achieve- 
ment and  looking  forward  into  a  great  field  of  duty 
and  opportunity,  and  appealing  to  the  judgment  of 
their  countrymen,  make  these  declarations: 

"  The  expectation  in  which  the  American  people, 
turning  from  the  Democratic  party,  intrusted  power 
four  years  ago  to  a  Republican  chief  magistrate  and 
a  Republican  Congress,  has  been  met  and  satisfied. 
When  the  people  then  assembled  at  the  polls  after 


REPUBLICAN   PLATFORM  OF  1900.          473 

a  term  of  Democratic  legislation  and  administration, 
business  was  dead,  industry  paralyzed  and  the  na- 
tional credit  disastrously  impaired.  The  country's 
capital  was  hidden  away  and  its  labor  distressed  and 
unemployed.  The  Democrats  had  no  other  plan 
with  which  to  improve  the  ruinous  conditions  which 
they  had  themselves  produced  than  to  coin  silver  at 
the  ratio  of  16  to  1.  The  Republican  party,  de- 
nouncing this  plan  as  sure  to  produce  conditions 
from  which  relief  was  sought,  promised  to  restore 
prosperity  by  means  of  two  legislative  measures — a 
protective  tariff  and  a  law  making  gold  the  standard 
of  value.  The  people  by  great  majorities  issued  to 
the  Republican  party  a  commission  to  enact  these 
laws.  This  commission  has  been  executed  and  the 
Republican  promise  is  redeemed.  Prosperity,  more 
general  and  more  abundant  than  we  have  ever 
known,  has  followed  these  enactments.  There  is  no 
longer  controversy  as  to  the  value  of  Government 
obligations.  Every  American  dollar  is  a  gold  dollar 
or  its  assured  equivalent,  and  American  credit  stands 
higher  than  that  of  any  nation.  Capital  is  fully  em- 
ployed and  everywhere  labor  is  profitably  occupied. 
"  No  single  fact  can  more  strikingly  tell  the  story 
of  what  government  means  to  the  country  than  this 
— that  while  during  the  whole  period  of  107  years 
from  1790  to  1897  there  was  an  excess  of  exports 
over  imports  of  only  $383,989,497,  there  has  been  in 
the  short  three  years  of  the  present  Republican  ad- 
ministration an  excess  of  exports  over  imports  in  the 


474          KEPUBLICAN  PLATFORM  OF  1900. 

enormous  sum  of  $1,483,537,954,  and  while  the 
American  people,  sustained  by  this  Republican  legis- 
lation, have  been  achieving  these  splendid  triumphs 
in  their  business  and  commerce,  they  have  conducted 
and,  in  victory,  concluded  a  war  for  liberty  and 
human  rights. 

"  No  thought  of  national  aggrandizement  tarnished 
the  high  power  with  which  American  standards 
were  unfurled.  It  was  a  war  unsought  and  patiently 
resisted,  but  when  it  came  the  American  Govern- 
ment was  ready.  Its  fleets  were  cleared  for  action. 
Its  armies  were  in  the  field,  and  the  quick  and  signal 
triumph  of  its  forces  on  land  and  sea  bore  equal 
tribute  to  the  courage  of  American  sailors  and 
soldiers  and  to  the  skill  of  Republican  statesman- 
ship. To  ten  millions  of  the  human  race  there  was 
given  '  a  new  birth  of  freedom,'  and  to  the  Amer- 
ican people  a  new  and  noble  responsibility. 

"We  indorse  the  administration  of  William  Me- 
Kinley.  Its  acts  have  been  established  in  wisdom 
and  in  patriotism,  and  at  home  and  abroad  it  has 
distinctly  elevated  and  extended  the  influence  of  the 
American  nation.  Walking  untried  paths  and  facing 
unforeseen  responsibilities,  President  McKiuley  has 
been  in  every  situation  the  true  American  patriot 
and  upright  statesman,  clear  in  vision,  strong  in 
judgment,  firm  in  action,  always  inspiring  and 
deserving  the  confidence  of  his  countrymen. 

"  In  asking  the  American  people  to  indorse  this 
Republican  record  and  to  renew  their  commission  to 


REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM   OF   1900.  475 

the  Kepublican  party,  we  remind  them  of  the  fact  that 
the  menace  to  their  prosperity  has  always  resided 
in  Democratic  principles  and  no  less  in  the  general 
incapacity  of  the  Democratic  party  to  conduct  pub- 
lic affairs.  The  prime  essential  of  business  prosperit v 
is  public  confidence  in  the  good  sense  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  in  its  ability  to  deal  intelligently  with  the 
problem  of  administration  and  legislation.  That 
confidence  the  Democratic  party  has  never  earned. 
It  is  hopelessly  inadequate,  and  the  country's  pros- 
perity, when  Democratic  success  at  the  polls  is 
announced,  halts  and  ceases  in  mere  anticipation  of 
Democratic  blunders  and  failures. 

"We  renew  our  allegiance  to  the  principle  of  the 
gold  standard  and  declare  our  confidence  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  legislation  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Congress 
by  which  the  parity  of  all  our  money  and  the  sta- 
bility of  our  currency  on  a  gold  basis  has  been 
secured.  "We  recognize  that  interest  rates  are  a 

O 

potent  factor  in  production  and  business  activity; 
and  for  the  purpose  of  further  equalizing  and  of 
further  lowering  the  rates  of  interest,  we  favor  such 

.monetary  legislation  as  will  enable  the  varying  nee* Is 
of  the  season  and  of  all  sections  to  be  promptly  met 

/in  order  that  trade  may  be  evenly  sustained,  labor 
steadily  employed  and  commerce  enlarged.  The 
volume  of  money  in  circulation  was  never  so  great 
per  capita  as  it  is  to-day.  We  declare  our  steadfast 
opposition  to  the  free  and  unlimited  coin;*  :vcr. 

No  measure  to  that  end  could  be  considered  which 


476          BEPUBLICAN  PLATFOKM  OF  1900. 

was  without  the  support  of  the  leading  commercial 
countries  of  the  world.  However  firmly  Republican 
legislation  may  seem  to  have  secured  the  country 
against  the  peril  of  base  and  discredited  currency 
the  election  of  a  Democratic  President  could  not  fail 
to  impair  the  country's  credit  and  to  bring  once  more 
into  question  the  intention  of  the  American  people 
to  maintain,  on  the  gold  standard,  the  parity  of  their 
money  circulation.  The  Democratic  party  must  be 
convinced  that  the  American  people  will  never  tol- 
erate the  Chicago  platform. 

"  We  recognize  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  the 
honest  co-operation  of  capital  to  meet  new  business 
conditions  and  especially  to  extend  our  rapidly 
increasing  foreign  trade,  but  we  condemn  all  con- 
spiracies and  combinations  intended  to  restrict  busi- 
ness, to  create  monopolies,  to  limit  production  or  to 
control  prices,  and  favor  such  legislation  as  will 
effectually  restrain  and  prevent  all  such  abuses,  pro- 
tect and  promote  competition  and  secure  the  rights 
of  producers,  laborers  and  all  who  are  engaged  in 
industry  and  commerce. 

"  We  renew  our  faith  in  the  policy  of  protection  to 
American  labor.  In  that  policy  our  industries  have 
been  established,  diversified  and  maintained.  By 
protecting  the  home  market  the  competition  has  been 
stimulated  and  production  cheapened.  Opportunity 
to  the  inventive  genius  of  our  people  has  been 
secured,  and  wages  in  every  department  of  labor 
maintained  at  high  rates,  higher  now  than  ever 


REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM  OF  1900.  477 

before,  always  distinguishing  our  working  people 
in  their  better  conditions  of  life  than  those  of  any 
competing  country.  Enjoying  the  blessings  of  Amer- 
ican common  schools,  secure  in  the  right  of  self-gov- 
ernment and  protected  in  the  occupancy  of  their  own 
markets,  their  constantly  increasing  knowledge  and 
skill  have  enabled  them  finally  to  enter  the  markets 
of  the  world.  We  favor  the  associated  policy  of 
reciprocity,  so  directed  to  open  our  markets  on  favor- 
able terms  for  what  we  do  not  ourselves  produce  in 
return  for  free  foreign  markets.  In  the  further  in- 
terest of  American  workmen,  we  favor  a  more  effect- 
ive restriction  of  the  immigration  of  cheap  labor  f n  ua 
foreign  lands,  the  extension  of  opportunities  of  educa- 
tion for  workingmen's  children,  the  raising  of  the  age 
limit  for  child  labor,  the  protection  of  free  labor  as 
against  contract  convict  labor,  and  an  effective  sys- 
tem of  labor  insurance. 

"Our  present  dependence  upon  foreign  shipping  for 
nine-tenths  of  our  foreign  carrying  is  a  great  loss  to 
the  industry  of  this  country.  It  is  also  a  serious 
danger  to  our  trade,  for  its  sudden  withdrawal  in  the 
event  of  European  war  would  seriously  cripple  our 
expanding  foreign  commerce.  The  national  defense 
and  naval  efficiency  of  this  country,  moreover,  supply 
a  compelling  reason  for  legislation  which  will  enable 
us  to  recover  our  former  place  among  the  trade-carry- 
ing fleets  of  the  world. 

"  The  nation  owes  a  debt  of  profound  gratitude 
to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  fought  its 


478  REPUBLICAN   PLATFORM   OF  1900. 

battles,  and  it  is  the  Government's  duty  to  provide 
for  the  survivors  and  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
those  who  have  fallen  in  the  country's  wars.  The 
pension  laws,  founded  in  this  just  sentiment,  should 
be  liberal,  and  should  be  liberally  administered  and 
preference  should  be  given,  wherever  practicable, 
with  respect  to  employment  in  the  public  service, 
to  soldiers  and  sailors  and  to  their  widows  and 
orphans. 

"  We  commend  the  policy  of  the  Republican  party 
in  maintaining  the  efficiency  of  the  civil  service. 
The  administration  has  acted  wisely  in  its  effort  to 
secure  for  public  service  in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and 
Hawaii  and  the  Philippine  Islands  only  those  whose 
fitness  has  been  determined  by  training  and  experi- 
ence. We  believe  that  employment  in  the  public 
service  in  these  territories  should  be  confined  as  far 
as  practicable  to  their  inhabitants. 

"  It  was  the  plain  purpose  of  the  jif  teenth  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  to  prevent  discrimination 
on  account  of  race  or  color  in  regulating  the  elective 
franchise.  Devices  of  State  Governments,  whether 
by  statutory  or  constitutional  enactment,  to  avoid  the 
purpose  of  this  amendment  are  revolutionary  and 
should  be  condemned. 

"Public  movements  looking  to  a  permanent  im- 
provement of  the  roads  and  highways  of  the  coun- 
try meet  with  our  cordial  approval,  and  we  recom- 
mend this  subject  to  the  earnest  consideration  of  the 
people  and  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States. 


REPUBLICAN   PLATFORM   OF  1900.  470 

"  We  favor  the  extension  of  the  rural  free  delivery 
service  wherever  its  extension  may  be  justified. 

"  In  further  pursuance  of  the  constant  policy  of 
the  Republican  party  to  provide  free  homes  on  the 
public  domain,  we  recommend  adequate  national  legis- 
lation to  reclaim  the  arid  lands  of  the  United  States, 
reserving  control  of  the  distribution  of  water  for 

O 

irrigation  to  the  respective  States  and  Territories. 

"  We  favor  home  rule  for  and  the  early  admission 
to  statehood  of  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona and  Oklahoma. 

u  The  Dingley  act  amended  to  provide  sufficient 
revenue  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  has  so  well  per- 
formed its  work  that  it  has  been  possible  to  reduce 
the  war  debt  in  the  sum  of  $40,000,000.  So  ample 
are  the  Government's  revenues  and  so  great  is  the 
public  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  its  obligations 
that  its  newly  funded  2  per  cent,  bonds  sell  at  a 
premium.  The  country  is  now  justified  in  expecting, 
and  it  will  be  the  policy  of  the  Republican  party  to 
bring  about,  a  reduction  of  the  war  taxes. 

"We  favor  the  construction,  ownership,  control 
and  protection  of  an  Isthmian  Canal  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  New  markets  are  nec- 
essary for  the  increasing  surplus  of  our  farm 
products.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to  open  and 
obtain  new  markets,  especially  in  the  Orient,  and  the 
administration  is  warmly  to  be  commended  for  its 
successful  effort  to  commit  all  trading  and  colonizing 
nations  to  the  policy  of  the  open  door  in  China.  In 


480          REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM  OF  1900. 

the  interest  of  our  expanding  commerce,  we  recom- 
mend that  Congress  create  a  Department  of  Com- 
merce and  Industries  in  the  charge  of  a  Secretary 
with  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  The  United  States  con- 
sular system  should  be  reorganized  under  the  super- 
vision of  this  new  department  upon  such  a  basis  and 
tenure  as  will  render  it  still  more  serviceable  to  the 
nation's  increasing  trade. 

"The  American  Government  must  protect  the 
person  and  property  of  every  citizen  wherever  they 
are  wrongfully  violated  or  placed  in  peril. 

"We  congratulate  the  women  of  America  upon 
their  splendid  record  of  public  service  in  the  Volun- 
teer Aid  Association,  and  as  nurses  in  camp  and  hos- 
pital during  the  recent  campaigns  of  our  armies  in 
the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  we  appreciate  faithful 
co-operation  in  all  works  of  education  and  industry. 

"President  McKinley  has  conducted  the  foreign 
affairs  of  the  United  States  with  distinguished  credit 
to  the  American  people.  In  releasing  us  from  the 
vexatious  conditions  of  a  European  alliance  for  the 
government  of  Samoa,  his  course  is  especially  to  be 
commended.  By  securing  to  our  undivided  control 
the  most  important  island  of  the  Samoan  group,  and 
the  best  harbor  in  the  southern  Pacific,  every  Amer- 
ican interest  has  been  safeguarded. 

"We  approve  the  annexation  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  to  the  United  States. 

"  We  commend  the  part  taken  by  our  Government 
in  the  peace  conference  at  The  Hague.  We  assert 


REPUBLICAN   PLATFORM  OF  1900.  481 

our  steadfast  adherence  to  the  policy  announced  in 
the  Monroe  doctrine.  The  provisions  of  The  Hague 
convention  were  wisely  regarded  when  President 
McKinley  tendered  his  friendly  offices  in  the  interest 
of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  South  Afri- 
can Republic.  While  the  American  Government 
must  continue  the  policy  prescribed  by  "Washington, 
affirmed  by  every  succeeding  President  and  imposed 
upon  us  by  The  Hague  treaty,  of  non-intervention  in 
European  controversies,  the  American  people  ear- 
nestly hope  that  a  way  may  soon  be  found,  honorable 
alike  to  both  contending  parties,  to  terminate  strife 
between  them. 

"  Accepting  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  the  just  respon- 
sibility of  our  victories  in  the  Spanish  war,  the 
President  and  the  Senate  won  the  undoubted  ap- 
proval of  the  American  people.  No  other  course 
was  possible  than  to  destroy  Spain's  sovereignty 
throughout  the  West  Indies  and  in  the  Philippine 
Islands.  That  course  created  our  responsibility 
before  the  world,  and  with  the  unorganized  popula- 
tion whom  our  intervention  had  freed  from  Spain, 
to  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order,  and 
for  the  establishment  of  good  government  and  for^ 
the  performance  of  international  obligations.  Our 
authority  could  not  be  less  than  our  responsibility, 
and  wherever  sovereign  rights  were  extended  it 
became  the  high  duty  of  the  Government  to  main- 
tain its  authority,  to  put  down  armed  insurrection 
and  to  confer  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  civilization 


482          REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM  OF  1900. 

upon  all  the  rescued  peoples.  The  largest  measure 
of  self-government  consistent  with  their  welfare  and 
our  duties  shall  be  secured  to  them  by  law.  To 
Cuba  independence  and  self-government  were  as- 
sured in  the  same  voice  by  which  war  was  declared 
and  to  the  letter  this  pledge  shall  be  performed. 

"The  Republican  party,  upon  its  history  and  upon 
this  declaration  of  its  principles  and  policies,  con- 
fidently invokes  the  considerate  and  approving  judg- 
ment of  the  American  people." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY'S  LATER 


Elected  and  Inaugurated  President  a  Second  Time— Triumphal  Tour 
Through  the  South  and  the  West,  ended  by  Mrs.  McKinley'i 
Illness. 


THE   Republican  National  Convention  of 
1900,  held  in  Philadelphia  from  June  19 
to  21,  unanimously  nominated  President 
McKinley  as  the  standard  bearer  of  the  party. 
The  hearty  action   of  the  Convention  was  the 
grandest  possible  endorsement  of  the  President's 
first  administration.     For  the  second  place  on  the 
ticket  Theodore   Roosevelt    of  New  York    was 
nominated. 

The  campaign  that  followed  the  nomination 
was  valiantly  fought  because  of  the  tactics  em- 
ployed by  the  opposition.  In  spite  of  the  heroic 
efforts  of  the  Democratic  party,  led  by  Mr.  Bryan, 
President  McKinley  carried  nearly  every  northern 
and  western  state,  receiving  a  larger  popular 
majority  than  that  of  four  years  before.  This 

483 


484  McKINLEY'S  LATER  DAYS. 

was  a  magnificent  attestation  of  his  popularity 
among  the  people. 

In  a  little  pavilion  midway  of  the  main  east 
door  of  the  capitol  and  the  heroic  figure  of  Wash- 
ington which  faces  the  great  building,  William 
McKinley,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1901,  for  the 
second  time  took  the  oath  of  office  as  President 
of  the  United  States.  As  with  uplifted  hand  he 
repeated  the  formal  vow  to  support  the  consti- 
tution of  the  republic  he  looked  into  the  face  of 
Chief  Justice  Fuller,  whose  snowy  locks  and  heavy 
black  silk  gown  made  him  a  statuesque  figure  in 
the  ceremonial  edifice. 

Grouped  about  the  President  just  without  the 
pavilion  were  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  foreign 
diplomats,  United  States  senators,  representa- 
tives, governors  and  the  distinguished  statesmen 
of  the  period.  The  ceremony  was  performed 
quickly,  however,  and  before  the  throng  that 
surged  toward  the  plaza  could  comprehend  what 
was  going  on  the  President  became  his  own  suc- 
cessor and  was  reading  his  inaugural  address. 
This  was  marked  by  a  strong  patriotic  policy  and 
was  well  received  by  the  nation.  The  address 
comprised  a  reiteration  of  the  policy  of  his  first 
administration. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  inauguration  a  tour  by 
the  President  and  his  party  was  planned  for  the 
south  and  far  west.  As  originally  planned  the 


McKIXLEY'S  LATER  DAYS.  485 

President  was  to  go  from  Washington  to  New- 
Orleans,  stopping  at  several  cities  in  the  south  on 
the  way.  Thence  to  Texas,  making  short  visits 
at  Dallas  and  Galveston,  and  possibly  stopping  at 
other  small  cities.  The  trip  across  western  Texas, 
New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  southwestern  California 
was  to  be  hurried,  the  first  important  stopping 
place  on  the  Pacific  coast  being  Los  Angeles. 

From  Los  Angeles  the  party  was  to  go  to  San 
Francisco,  there  to  remain  several  days  participat- 
ing in  the  launching  of  the  battle-ship  Ohio  and 
festivities  which  had  been  planned  on  an  elaborate 
scale.  On  the  north  Pacific  coast  the  President 
was  to  go  to  Portland,  Seattle  and  Tacoma.  After 
leaving  Puget  Sound  he  was  to  stop  at  one  or  two 
of  the  smaller  cities  in  Washington,  possibly  in 
Idaho,  and  then  proceed  to  Helena  and  Butte  in 
Montana.  Thence  to  the  Yellowstone  park,  enter- 
ing it  on  the  north  and  reentering  his  train  on  the 
south  side  of  the  park. 

The  President  had  never  been  in  the  great  na- 
tional park  of  the  country  and  he  was  therefore 
to  explore  it  as  thoroughly  as  he  could  in  two  or 
three  days.  He  was  then  to  be  whisked  off  to  Salt 
Lake  City,  thence  to  Denver  and  Colorado  Springs; 
thence  to  Topeka  and  Kansas  City.  Without 
making  any  stops  of  importance,  his  train  was  to 
be  hurried  to  Duluth,  where  the  President  was  to 
embark  for  a  trip  down  the  great  lakes  for  Buffalo. 


48G  McKINLEY'S  LATER  DAYS. 

On  the  way  down  he  was  to  stop  for  some  hours 
at  Detroit  and  at  Cleveland,  and  arrive  at  Buffalo 
some  time  between  the  10th  and  15th  of  June, 
where  he  was  to  be  the  guest  of  the  city  and  par- 
ticipate in  the  exercises  at  the  Pan-American  ex- 
position on  President's  day. 

The  itinerary  was  begun  in  the  spring  as  plan- 
ned, Mrs.  McKinley  accompanying  the  President. 
The  President  was  heartily  received  throughout 
the  South,  gala  days  being  held  wherever  he 
stopped. 

On  reaching  the  Pacific  coast  Mrs.  McKinley 
became  seriously  ill,  and  for  some  days  her  life 
was  in  danger.  This  ended  the  itinerary,  and  as 
soon  as  she  could  be  safely  moved  the  Presidential 
party  returned  home  by  special  train.  A  rest  at 
the  family  home  in  Canton  so  improved  Mrs. 
McKinley's  health  that  she  was  able  to  accom- 
pany the  President  to  the  Pan-American  exposi- 
tion in  September  and  be  present  on  President's 
Day  at  the  exposition. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION^ 

President's  Visit  to  the  Pan-American  Exposition — His  Great  Speech 
— Shot  by  Anarchist  Leon  Czolgosz— A  Week  in  the  Balance. 

PRESIDENT  McKINLEY  left  Washington 
about  the  middle  of  August .  He  was  worn 
out  by  the  cares  of  state  and  through 
worry  over  Mrs.  McKinley's  health,  and  went  to 
his  home  in  Canton  for  a  brief  rest.  There  he 
spent  much  of  his  time  out  of  doors,  driving 
about  the  country,  visiting  his  farm  and  walking, 
and  soon  regained  his  old-time  strength  and  vigor. 
Mrs.  McKinley  also  improved  rapidly,  and  on 
Wednesday,  Sept.  4,  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
the  Misses  Barber,  and  Miss  Sarah  Duncan,  his 
nieces,  he  left  Canton  for  Buffalo  to  attend  the 
Pan-American  Exposition.  They  arrived  in  Buf- 
falo the  same  evening  and  were  taken  at  once  to 
the  north  gate  of  the  exposition  grounds. 

There  an  immense  crowd  gathered  to  welcome 
the  nation's  Executive.     The  people  shouted,  can- 

•487 


488  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

nons  boomed,  whistles  screeched,  and  everybody 
and  everything  seemed  to  vie  in  their  expressions 
of  joy  over  the  arrival  of  the  beloved  President. 
A  few  minutes  later  the  President,  with  Mrs. 
McKinley  leaning  on  his  arm,  and  surrounded  by 
the  Reception  Committee,  left  the  train  and  took 
carriages  for  a  drive  through  the  grounds.  No 
ruler,  either  ancient  or  modern,  ever  received  a 
more  fervent  welcome  than  did  President  McKinley 
on  this  occasion.  The  President  acknowledged 
the  cheerings  and  salutations  of  the  crowds  by 
bowing  and  raising  his  hat.  Mrs.  McKinley,  who 
looked  remarkably  well  after  the  tiresome  jour- 
ney, smiled  happily.  It  was  a  happy  city  and  a 
happy  President  that  night. 

About  9  o'clock  the  party  was  driven  to  the 
home  of  John  G.  Milburn,  President  of  the  Ex- 
position company,  where  it  was  to  be  entertained 
during  the  stay  in  Buffalo. 

The  day  following,  Thursday,  September  5,  had 
been  set  aside  on  the  Pan-American  Exposition 
calendar  in  the  President's  honor.  It  was  the  red 
letter  day  in  the  exposition's  history.  All  Buffalo 
and  thousands  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States 
turned  out  to  celebrate.  The  President  was  re- 
ceived at  the  exposition  with  all  the  ceremonial 
honors,  civil  and  military,  due  his  office.  At  the 
entrance  of  the  grounds  he  was  met  by  detach- 
ments of  the  United  States  marines,  the  Seacoast 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  489 

Artillery,  and  the  Sixty-fifth  and  Seventy-fourth 
New  York  Regiments.  A  President's  salute  of 
twenty-one  guns  was  fired. 

The  President  was  at  once  escorted  to  the  stand 
erected  in  the  esplanade.  There  was  almost  ab- 
solute quiet  when  President  Milburn  arose  and 
introduced  the  President  as  follows: 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  President." 
The  great  audience  broke  out  with  a  mighty 
cheer,  which  continued  as  President  McKinley 
arose,  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  he  was  able 
to  proceed.  When  quiet  was  restored  he  spoke 
as  follows: 

President  Milburn,  Director  General  Buchanan,  Commis- 
sioners, Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  am  glad  to  be  again  in  the 
city  of  Buffalo  and  exchange  greetings  with  her  people,  to 
whose  generous  hospitality  I  am  not  a  stranger  and  with  whose 
good  will  I  have  been  repeatedly  and  signally  honored.  Today 
I  have  additional  satisfaction  in  meeting  and  giving  welcome 
to  the  foreign  representatives  assembled  here,  whose  presence 
and  participation  in  this  exposition  have  contributed  in  so 
marked  a  degree  to  its  interest  and  success.  To  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  the  British  colonies, 
the  French  colonies,  the  Republics  of  Mexico  and  of  Central 
and  South  America  and  the  commissioners  of  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico,  who  share  with  us  in  this  undertaking,  we  give  the  hand 
of  fellowship  and  felicitate  with  them  upon  the  triumphs  of 
art,  science,  education  and  manufacture  which  the  old  has 
bequeathed  to  the  new  century. 

Expositions  are  the  time-keepers  of  progress.  They 
record  the  world's  advancement.  They  stimulate  the  energy, 
enterprise  and  intellect  of  the  people  and  quicken  human 


490  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

genius.  They  go  into  the  home.  They  broaden  and  brighten 
the  daily  life  of  the  people.  Tuc-y  open  mighty  storehouses  of 
information  to  the  student.  Every  exposition,  great  or  small, 
has  helped  to  some  onward  step.  Comparison  of  ideas  is 
always  educational,  and,  as  such,  instructs  the  brain  and  hand 
of  man.  Friendly  rivalry  follows,  which  is  the  spur  to  indus* 
trial  improvement,  the  inspiration  to  useful  invention  and  to 
high  endeavor  in  all  departments  of  human  activity.  It  exacts 
a  study  of  the  wants,  comforts  and  even  the  whims  of  the 
people  and  recognizes  the  efficacy  of  high  quality  and  low 
prices  to  win  their  favor.  The  quest  for  trade  is  an  incentive 
to  men  of  business  to  invent,  improve  and  economize  in  the 
cost  of  production.  Business  life,  whether  among  ourselves 
or  with  other  people,  is  ever  a  sharp  struggle  for  success.  It 
will  be  none  the  less  so  in  the  future.  Without  competition 
we  would  be  clinging  to  the  clumsy  and  antiquated  processes 
of  farming  and  manufacture  and  the  methods  of  business  of 
long  ago,  and  the  twentieth  would  be  no  further  advanced  than 
the  eighteenth  century. 

The  Pan-American  Exposition  has  done  its  work  thoi 
oughly,  presenting  in  its  exhibits  evidences  of  the  highest 
Bkill  and  illustrating  the  progress  of  the  human  family  in  the 
western  hemisphere.  This  portion  of  the  earth  has  no  cause 
for  humiliation  for  the  part  it  has  performed  in  the  march 
of  civilization.  It  has  not  accomplished  everything ;  far  from 
it.  It  has  simply  done  its  best,  and  without  vanity  or  boast- 
fulness,  and,  recognizing  the  manifold  achievements  of  others, 
it  invites  the  friendly  rivalry  of  all  the  powers  in  the  peaceful 
pursuits  of  trade  and  commerce,  and  will  cooperate  with  all  in 
advancing  the  highest  and  best  interests  of  humanity.  The 
wisdom  and  energy  of  all  the  nations  are  none  too  great  for  the 
world's  work.  The  success  of  art,  science,  industry  and  in- 
vention is  an  international  asset  and  a  common  glory. 

After  all,  how  near  one  to  the  other  is  every  part  of  the 


McKINLEY'8  ASSASSINATION.  491 

world!  Modern  inventions  have  brought  into  close  relation 
widely  separated  peoples  and  made  them  better  acquainted. 
Geographic  and  political  divisions  will  continue  to  exist,  but 
dis<  ances  have  been  effaced.  Swift  ships  and  fast  trains  are 
becoming  cosmopolitan.  They  invade  fields  which  a  few  years 
ago  were  impenetrable.  The  world's  products  are  exchang- 
ed as  never  before,  and  with  increasing  transporation  facilities 
comes  increasing  knowledge  and  trade.  Prices  are  fixed  with 
mathematical  precision  by  supply  and  demand.  The  world's 
selling  prices  are  regulated  by  market  and  crop  reports.  We 
travel  greater  distances  in  a  shorter  space  of  time  and  with 
more  ease  than  was  ever  dreamed  of  by  the  fathers. 

Isolation  is  no  longer  (possible  or  desirable.  The  same 
important  news  is  read,  though  iu  different  languages,  the 
same  day  in  all  Christendom.  The  telegraph  keeps  us  advised 
of  what  is  occuring  everywhere  and  the  press  foreshadows, 
with  more  or  less  accuracy,  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  na- 
tions. Market  prices  of  products  and  of  securities  are  hourly 
known  in  every  commercial  mart  and  the  investments  of  the 
people  extend  beyond  their  own  national  boundaries  into  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  earth.  Vast  transactions  are  conduct- 
ed and  international  exchanges  are  made  by  the  tick  of  the 
cable.  Every  event  of  interest  is  immediately  bulletined. 
The  quick  gathering  and  transmission  of  news,  like  rapid  tran- 
sit, are  of  recent  origin  and  are  only  made  possible  by  the 
genius  of  the  inventor  and  the  courage  of  the  investor. 

It  took  a  special  messenger  of  the  government,  with  every 
facility  known  at  the  time  for  rapid  travel,  nineteen  days  to 
go  from  the  city  of  Washington  to  New  Orleans  with  a  mes- 
sage to  General  Jackson  that  the  war  with  Euglaaid  had  ceast-d 
and  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed.  How  different  now! 
"We  reached  General  Miles  in  Porto  Rico  by  cable  and  he  was 
able  through  the  military  telegraph  to  stop  his  army  on  the 
firing  line  with  the  message  that  the  United  States  and  Spain 


492  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

had  signed  a  protocol  suspending  hostilities.  We  knew  almost 
instantly  of  the  first  shot  fired  at  Santiago,  and  the  subsequent 
surrender  of  the  Spanish  forces  was  known  at  Washington 
within  less  than  an  hour  of  its  consummation.  The  first  ship 
of  Cervera's  fleet  had  hardly  emerged  from  that  historic  har- 
bor when  the  fact  was  flashed  to  our  capital  and  the  swift  de- 
struction that  followed  was  announced  immediately  through 
the  wonderful  medium  of  telegraphy.  So  accustomed  are  we 
to  safe  and  easy  communication  with  distant  lands  that  its 
temporary  interruption  even  in  ordinary  times  results  in  loss 
and  inconvenience. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  days  of  anxious  waiting  and 
awful  suspense  when  no  information  was  permitted  to  be  sent 
from  Pekin,  and  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  the  nations 
in  China,  cut  off  from  all  communication  inside  and  outside  of 
the  walled  capital,  were  surrounded  by  an  angry  and  misguided 
mob  that  threatened  their  lives;  nor  the  joy  that  thrilled  the 
world  when  a  single  message  from  the  government  of  the 
United  States  brought  through  our  minister,  the  first  news  of 
the  safety  of  the  besieged  diplomats. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  not 
a  mile  of  steam  railroad  on  the  globe.  Now  there  are  enough 
miles  to  make  its  circuit  many  times.  Then  there  was  not 
a  mile  of  electric  telegraph;  now  we  have  a  vast  mileage  travers- 
ing all  lands  and  all  seas.  God  and  man  have  linked  the  na- 
tions together.  No  nation  can  longer  be  indifferent  to  any 
other.  And  as  we  are  brought  more  and  more  in  touch  with 
each  other  the  less  occasion  is  there  for  misunderstandings 
and  the  stronger  the  disposition,  when  we  have  differences,  to 
adjust  them  in  the  court  of  arbitration,  which  is  the  noblest 
forum  for  the  settlement  of  international  disputes. 

My  fellow  citizens,  trade  statistics  indicate  that  this 
country  is  in  a  state  of  unexampled  prosperity.  The  figures 
are  almost  appalling.  They  show  that  we  are  utilizing  our 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

fields  and  forests  and  mines  and  that  we  are  furnishing  profit- 
able employment  to  the  millions  of  workingmen  throughout 
the  United  States,  bringing  comfort  and  happiness  to  their 
homes  and  making  it  possible  to  lay  by  savings  for  old  age  and 
disability.  That  all  the  people  are  participating  in  this  .great 
prosperity  is  seen  in  every  American  community  and  shown  by 
the  enormous  and  unprecedented  deposits  in  our  savings  banks. 
Our  duty  is  the  care  and  security  of  these  deposits,  and  their 
safe  investment  demands  the  highest  integrity  and  the  best 
business  capacity  of  those  in  charge  of  these  depositories  of 
the  people's  earnings. 

Our  capacity  to  produce  has  developed  so  enormously  and 
our  products  have  so  multiplied  that  the  problem  of  more 
markets  requires  our  urgent  and  immediate  attention.  Only  a 
broad  and  enlightened  policy  will  keep  what  we  have.  No 
other  policy  will  get  more.  In  these  times  of  marvelous  busi- 
ness energy  and  gain  we  ought  to  be  looking  to  the  future, 
strenghtening  the  weak  places  in  our  industrial  and  commercial 
systems,  that  we  may  be  ready  for  any  storm  or  strain. 

By  sensible  trade  arrangements  which  will  not  interrupt 
our  home  production  we  shall  extend  the  outlets  for  our  in- 
creasing surplus.  We  must  not  repose  in  fancied  security  that 
we  can  forever  sell  everything  and  buy  little  or  nothing.  If 
such  a  thing  were  possible  it  would  not  be  best  for  us  or  for 
those  with  whom  we  deal.  We  should  take  from  our  customers 
such  of  their  products  as  we  can  use  without  harm  to  our  in- 
dustries and  labor.  Reciprocity  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
our  wonderful  industrial  development  under  the  domestic  policy 
now  firmly  established.  What  we  produce  beyond  our  domestic 
consumption  must  have  a  vent  abroad.  The  excess  must  be 
relieved  through  a  foreign  outlet  and  we  should  sell  every- 
where we  can  and  buy  wherever  the  buying  will  enlarge  our 
sales  and  productions  and  thereby  make  a  greater  demand  for 
home  labor. 


194  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

The  period  of  exclusiveness  is  past.  The  expansion  of 
our  trade  and  commerce  is  the  pressing  problem.  Commercial 
wars  are  unprofitable.  A  policy  of  good  will  and  friendly 
trade  relations  will  prevent  reprisals.  Reciprocity  treaties  are 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times;  measures  of  retaliation 
are  not. 

If,  perchance,  some  of  our  tariffs  are  no  longer  needed 
for  revenue  or  to  encourage  and  protect  our  industries  at  home, 
why  should  they  not  be  employed  to  extend  and  promote  our 
markets  abroad?  Then,  too,  we  have  inadequate  steamship 
service.  New  lines  of  steamers  have  already  been  put  in  com- 
mission between  the  Pacific  coast  ports  of  the  United  States 
and  those  on  the  western  coasts  of  Mexico  and  Central  and 
South  America.  These  should  be  followed  up  with  direct 
steamship  lines  between  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States 
and  South  American  ports.  One  of  the  needs  of  the  times  is 
direct  commercial  lines  from  our  vast  fields  of  production  to 
the  fields  of  consumption  that  we  have  barely  touched.  Next 
in  advantage  to  having  the  thing  to  sell  is  to  have  the  conven- 
ience to  carry  it  to  the  buyer. 

We  must  encourage  our  merchant  marine.  We  must  have 
more  ships.  They  must  be  under  the  American  flag,  built  and 
manned  and  owned  by  Americans.  These  will  not  only  be 
profitable  in  a  commercial  sense;  they  will  be  messengers  of 
peace  and  amity  wherever  they  go. 

We  must  build  the  Isthmian  Canal,  which  will  unite  the 
two  oceans  and  give  a  straight  line  of  water  communication 
with  the  western  coasts  of  Central  and  South  America  and 
Mexico.  The  construction  of  a  Pacific  cable  cannot  be  longer 
postponed. 

In  the  furtherance  of  these  objects  of  national  interest  and 
concern  you  are  performing  an  important  part.  This  exposi- 
tion would  have  touched  the  heart  of  that  American  statesman 
whose  mind  was  ever  'alert  and  thought  ever  constant  for  a 


McKINLEY 'S  ASSASSINATION.  495 

larger  commerce  and  a  truer  fraternity  of  the  republics  of  the 
new  world.  His  broad  American  spirit  is  felt  arid  manifested 
here.  He  needs  no  identification  to  an  assemblage  of  Ameri- 
cans anywhere,  for  the  name  of  Elaine  is  inseparably  associat- 
ed with  the  Pan-American  movement  which  finds  this  practical 
and  substantial  expression  and  which  we  all  hope  will  be  firm- 
ly advanced  by  the  Pan-American  congress  that  assembles  this 
autumn  in  the  capital  of  Mexico. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  his  address  a  large  num- 
ber of  people  broke  through  the  lines  around  the 
stand  and  the  President  held  an  impromptu  re- 
ception for  fifteen  minutes,  shaking  hands  with 
thousands.  The  carriages  were  then  brought  to 
the  steps  of  the  stand  and  the  President,  accom- 
panied by  the  diplomatic  corps  and  specially  in- 
vited guests  made  a  tour  of  the  Exposition 
grounds. 

Mrs.  McKinley  left  the  stand  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  speech-making  and  was  taken  to  the  Wo- 
man's Building,  where  she  was  entertained  by  the 
women  managers. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinley  visited 
the  Exposition  grounds  to  view  the  illumination 
and  fireworks. 

On  the  following  day,  Friday,  September  6, 
President  and  Mrs.  McKinley,  escorted  by  Presi- 
dent Milburn,  of  the  Exposition,  and  several  dis- 
tinguished guests,  visited  Niagara  falls.  It  was  the 
second  day  of  the  President's  visit  and  was  to 
have  been  the  last.  The  programme  for  the  day 


496  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

included  only  the  visit  to  the  falls,  a  public  recep- 
tion at  the  Temple  of  Music,  a  quiet  dinner  party 
and  the  start  for  Washington. 

A  special  train  v  carried  the  party  to  Niagara,  and 
from  the  suspension  bridge  the  President  and  his 
party  viewed  the  mighty  cataract  for  some  time. 
Carriages  were  at  hand  and  the  party  drove  to  the 
International  Hotel,  where  lunch  was  served,  and 
soon  afterward,  in  high  spirits,  the  guests  re- 
entered  the  train  and  whirled  back  to  Buffalo. 

Mrs.  McKinley,  tired  by  the  day's  outing,  did 
not  return  to  the  Exposition  grounds,  but  was 
driven  to  the  Milburn  residence.  The  President  was 
driven  direct  to  the  Temple  of  Music,  where  the  re- 
ception was  to  be  held.  A  great  throng  was  gath- 
ered in  and  around  the  building.  On  the  eastern 
side  of  the  building  was  a  dais  on  which  stood  the 
great  organ.  During  the  wait  for  the  President's 
appearance  an  organ  recital  was  given,  and  the 
applause  had  scarcely  died  away  when  a  ringing 
cheer  from  the  outside  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  President.  A  narrow  lane  was  forced  in  the 
crowd  and  through  it  the  President,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  President  Milburn  and  followed  by  Secre- 
tary Cortelyou  and  half  a  dozen  secret  service 
operatives,  passed  quickly  to  the  little  platform 
and  took  his  stand  near  the  organ. 

On  his  right  stood  Mr.  Milburn  and  on  his  left 
Secretary  Cortelyou.  Close  at  hand  stood  the  se- 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  497 

cret  service  detectives  forming  the  President's 
bodyguard. 

To  this  reception  the  general  public  had  been 
invited.  No  man,  woman,  or  child,  no  matter  of 
what  color,  birth,  or  political  belief,  was  refused 
admission.  The  President  had  been  introduced  to 
the  great  crowd  which  had  thronged  the  Temple 
of  Music,  and  all  came  forward  in  a  line  for  a  per- 
sonal greeting. 

Among  those  in  line  was  Leon  Czolgosz,  whose 
right  hand  was  wrapped  in  a  handkerchief. 
Folded  in  the  handkerchief  was  a  thirty-two  cali- 
ber revolver.  So  carefully  was  the  weapon  con- 
cealed, however,  and  so  deftly  had  the  handker- 
chief been  arranged  that  no  suspicions  were 
aroused  in  the  detective  who  stood  close  by  the 
President  to  guard  against  any  such  emergency. 
The  hand  simply  had  the  appearance  of  having 
been  wrapped  up  to  cover  some  sore  or  bruise. 

A  little  girl  was  led  up  by  her  father,  and  the 
President  shook  hands  with  her.  As  she  passed 
along  to  the  right  the  President  looked  after  her 
smilingly  and  waved  his  hand  in  a  pleasant  adieu. 

Next  in  line  came  a  boyish-featured  man  about 
twenty-six  years  old,  preceded  by  a  short  Italian, 
who  leaned  backward  against  the  bandaged  hand 
of  his  follower.  The  officers  who  attended  the 
President  noted  this  man,  their  attention  being 
first  attracted  by  the  Italian,  whose  dark,  shaggy 


498  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

brows  and  black  mustache  caused  the  professional 
protectors  to  regard  him  with  suspicion. 

The  man  with  the  bandaged  hand  and  innocent 
face  received  no  attention  from  the  detective  be- 
yond the  mental  observation  that  his  right  hand 
was  apparently  injured,  and  that  he  would  present 
his  left  hand  to  the  President. 

The  Italian  stood  before  the  palm  bower.  He 
held  the  President's  hand  so  long  that  the  officers 
stepped  forward  to  break  the  clasp  and  make 
room  for  the  man  with  the  bandaged  hand,  who 
extended  the  left  member  towards  the  Presi- 
dent's right. 

The  President  smiled  and  presented  his  right 
hand  in  a  position  to  meet  the  left  of  the  ap- 
proaching man.  Hardly  a  foot  of  space  intervened 
between  the  bodies  of  the  two  men.  Before  their 
hands  met  two  pistol  shots  were  fired,  and  the 
President  turned  slightly  to  the  left  and  reeled. 
The  tall,  innocent-looking  young  man  had  fired 
through  the  bandage  without  removing  any  por- 
tion of  the  handkerchief. 

The  first  bullet  struck  the  sternum  in  the  Pres- 
ident's chest,  deflected  to  the  right,  and  traveled 
beneath  the  skin  to  a  point  directly  beneath  the 
right  nipple.  The  second  bullet  penetrated  the 
abdomen,  pierced  both  walls  of  the  stomach,  and 
lodged  in  the  back.  Only  a  superficial  wound  was 
caused  by  the  first  bullet,  and  within  five  minutes 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  499 

after  the  physicians  had  reached  the  President's 
side  it  had  been  removed.  The  second  bullet — 
the  fatal  one — was  never  found. 

On  receiving  the  first  shot  President  McKinley 
lifted  himself  on  his  toes  with  something  of  a  gasp. 
His  movement  caused  the  second  shot  to  enter 
just  below  the  navel.  With  the  second  shot  the 
President  doubled  slightly  forward  and  then  sank 
back.  Detective  Geary  caught  the  President  in  his 
arms  and  President  Milburn  helped  to  support  him. 

When  the  President  fell  into  the  arms  of  Detec- 
tive Geary  he  coolly  asked:  "Am  I  shot?" 

Geary  unbottoned  the  President's  vest,  and, 
seeing  blood,  replied:  "I  fear  you  are,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent." 

It  had  ah1  happened  in  an  instant.  Almost  be- 
fore the  noise  of  the  second  shot  sounded  Czolgosz 
was  seized  by  S.  R.  Ireland,  United  States  secret 
service  man,  who  stood  directly  opposite  the  Presi- 
dent. Ireland  hurled  him  to  the  floor,  and  as  he 
fell  a  negro  waiter,  James  B.  Parker,  who  once 
worked  in  Chicago,  leaped  upon  him.  Soldiers  of 
the  United  States  artillery  detailed  at  the  recep- 
tion sprang  upon  them  and  he  was  surrounded  by 
a  squad  of  exposition  police  and  secret  service  de- 
tectives. Meanwhile  Ireland  and  the  negro  held  the 
assassin,  endeavoring  to  shield  him  from  the 
attacks  of  the  infuriated  artillerymen  and  the 
blows  of  the  policemen's  clubs. 


500  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

Supported  by  Detective  Geary  and  President 
Milburn,  and  surrounded  by  Secretary  George  B. 
Cortelyou  and  half  a  dozen  exposition  officials, 
the  President  was  assisted  to  a  chair,  where  he 
sank  back  with  one  hand  holding  his  abdomen,  the 
other  fumbling  at  his  breast.  His  eyes  were  open 
and  he  was  clearly  conscious  of  all  that  had  trans- 
pired. He  was  suffering  the  most  intense  pain, 
but  true  to  his  noble  nature  his  first  thought  was 
of  others — one. other  in  particular,  his  wife. 

He  looked  up  into  President  Milburn's  face 
and  gasped:  "Cortelyou."  The  President's  secre- 
tary bent  over  him.  "Cortelyou,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent, "my  wife,  be  careful  about  her.  Don't  let 
her  know." 

His  next  thought  was  of  the  cruel  assassin  who 
had  struck  him  down.  Moved  by  a  paroxysm  he 
writhed  to  the  left,  and  then  his  eyes  fell  on  the 
prostrate  form  of  Czolgosz,  lying  on  the  floor 
bloody  and  helpless  beneath  the  blows  of  the 
police,  soldiers,  and  detectives. 

The  President  raised  his  right  hand,  red  with 
his  own  blood,  and  placed  it  on  the  shoulder  of  his 
secretary.  "Let  no  one  hurt  him,"  he  gasped, 
and  sank  back  in  his  chair,  while  the  guards  carried 
Czolgosz  out  of  his  sight. 

The  ambulance  from  the  exposition  hospital 
was  summoned  immediately,  and  the  President, 
still  conscious,  sank  upon  the  stretcher,  and  in 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  501 

nine  minutes  after  the  shooting  the  President  was 
waiting  the  arrival  of  surgeons,  who  had  been 
summoned  from  all  sections  of  the  city  and  by 
special  train  from  Niagara  Falls. 

On  the  way  to  the  hospital  the  President  said 
to  Mr.  Milburn:  "I  am  sorry  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  trouble  to  the  exposition." 

Within  ten  minutes  after  he  received  his  wounds, 
stricken  with  pain  as  he  was,  the  President  had 
given  expression  to  three  thoughts.  First,  and 
most  natural,  that  the  news  should  be  kept  from 
his  invalid  wife ;  second,  that  the  would-be  assassin, 
worthless  as  his  life  was,  should  not  be  harmed ; 
and  third,  regret  that  the  tragedy  might  hurt  the 
exposition  and  interfere  with  the  pleasure  of 
others. 

Six  doctors  were  at  the  President's  side  within 
thirty  seconds  after  his  arrival — Dr.  E.  W.  Lee  of 
St.  Louis,  Dr.  Storer  of  Chicago,  Dr.  Van  Peyms 
of  Buffalo,  and  Dr.  Hall,  Dr.  Ellis,  and  Dr.  Mann, 
Jr.,  of  the  exposition  hospital  staff.  The  nurses 
were  equally  prompt,  for  they  had  made  ready  for 
the  task  of  the  surgeons  while  the  ambulance  was 
coming  from  the  Temple  of  Music. 

The  President  was  stripped  and  placed  on  an 
operating  table  where  the  surgeons  might  see  his 
wounds.  The  first  assistance  was  rendered  by 
Dr.  Lee,  who  was  the  medical  director  of  the 
Omaha  exposition.  The  President  recognized  him 


502  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

and  [said:     "Doctor,  do  whatever  is  necessary." 

The  hospital  stewards  were  busy  removing  the 
President's  apparel  when  Dr.  Herman  Mynter  ar- 
rived. The  surgeons  consulted  and  hesitated 
about  performing  an  operation.  The  President 
reassured  them  by  expressing  his  confidence,  but 
no  decision  was  reached  until  Dr.  Matthew  D. 
Mann  of  the  exposition  hospital  staff  arrived. 
After  another  consultation  Dr.  Mann  informed 
the  President  that  an  operation  was  necessary. 

"All  right,"  replied  the  President.  "Go  ahead. 
Do  whatever  is  proper." 

Dr.  Mann  performed  the  operation.  His  first 
assistant  was  Dr.  Mynter.  His  second  assistant 
was  Dr.  John  Parmenter.  His  third  assistant  was 
Dr.  Lee.  Dr.  Nelson  W.  Wilson  noted  the  time 
of  the  operation  and  took  notes.  Dr.  Eugene 
Wasdin  of  the  Marine  Hospital  gave  the  anaes- 
thetic. Dr.  Rixey,  the  President's  personal  phy- 
sician, arrived  at  the  latter  part  of  the  operation 
and  held  the  light.  Dr.  Eoswell  Park,  who  had 
been  summoned  from  Niagara  Falls,  arrived  at  the 
close  of  the  operation. 

The  operation  lasted  almost  an  hour.  A  cut 
about  five  inches  long  was  made.  It  was  found 
necessary  to  turn  up  the  stomach  of  the  Presi- 
dent in  order  to  trace  the  course  of  the  bullet. 
The  bullet's  opening  in  the  front  wall  of  the  stom- 
ach was  small,  and  it  was  carefully  closed  with 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  503 

sutures,  after  which  a  search  was  made  for  the 
hole  in  the  back  wall  of  the  stomach. 

This  hole,  where  the  bullet  left  the  stomach, 
was  larger  than  that  in  the  front  wall  of  the  stom- 
ach, in  fact,  it  was  a  wound  over  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, jagged  and  ragged.  It  was  sewed  up  in  three 
layers. 

In  turning  up  the  stomach,  an  act  performed  by 
Dr.  Mann  with  rare  skill,  the  danger  was  that 
some  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  might  go  into 
the  abdominal  cavity,  and  cause  peritonitis.  It 
so  happened  that  there  was  little  in  the  President's 
stomach  at  the  time  of  the  operation.  Moreover, 
subsequent  developments  showed  that  this  feature 
of  the  operation  was  grandly  successful  and  none 
of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  entered  the  abdomi- 
nal cavity. 

The  anaesthetic  administered  was  ether,  and  for 
two  and  a  half  hours  the  President  was  under  its 
influence.  He  came  out  of  the  operation  strong, 
with  a  good  pulse  and  steady  heart  action. 

The  operation  over,  arrangements  were  made  to 
remove  the  President  to  the  Milburn  house  before 
any  reaction  might  set  in.  The  shooting  occurred 
shortly  after  4  o'clock  and  at  7 :25  the  ambulance 
backed  up  to  the  hospital  door  to  remove  the 
President.  The  people  had  been  told  previously 
that  the  operation  was  over  and  that  the  President 
was  in  a  critical  condition.  They  fell  back  to  a 


504  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

respectful  distance  while  the  body  was  being  placed 
in  an  ambulance.  All  heads  were  bare  until  the 
wagon  drove  out  of  sight. 

As  sooji  as  the  President  had  been  removed 
from  the  Temple  of  Music  to  the  hospital,  Director 
General  W.  I.  Buchanan  started  for  the  Milbum 
residence,  where  Mrs.  McKinley  was  resting.  He 
went  to  forestall  any  information  that  might  reach 
her  by  telephone  or  otherwise.  The  Misses  Barber 
and  Miss  Duncan,  the  President's  nieces,  and  Mrs. 
Milburn  were  also  at  the  house.  Mr.  Buchanan 
informed  the  nieces  as  gently  as  possible  and  con- 
sulted Mrs.  Milburn  as  to  the  best  course  to  pursue 
in  telling  Mrs.  McKinley  of  the  tragedy.  It  was 
decided  that  on  her  awakening  from  her  nap  Mr. 
Buchanan  should  see  her,  if,  in  the  meantime  Dr. 
Bixey  had  not  arrived. 

Mrs.  McKinley  awoke  at  5 :30  o'clock,  and,  feel- 
ing much  rested,  took  up  her  crocheting.  When 
it  became  dusk  and  her  husband  did  not  return 
she  began  to  worry  and  made  inquiries  of  the 
family  as  to  the  probable  reason  for  his  tardiness. 
By  this  time  Dr.  Rixey  had  arrived,  and  it  was 
decided  that  he  should  break  the  news  to  her.  As 
to  just  how  he  informed  her  of  the  mishap  to  her 
husband  reports  differ. 

However,  she  was  informed  by  Dr.  Eixey,  the 
physician  who  has  attended  her  for  some  time, 
who  went  to  her  and  said  simply:  ''The  Presi- 
dent has  been  hurt." 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  505 

"  How  was  he  hurt?"  asked  Mrs.  McKinley. 

"  Well,  a  man  shot  at  him  and  one  of  the  shots 
took  effect,  hut  we  do  not  think  he  is  hadly  hurt, 
and  we  think  he  will  recover." 

Mrs.  McKinley  was  excited,  but  she  did  not 
lose  her  self-control.  She  immediately  asked  to  be 
told  all  the  particulars. 

u  Tell  me  all,"  she  said.  "Do  not  keep  any- 
thing back.  I  will  be  brave." 

And  she  was  brave  throughout  the  long  days 
and  nights  of  worry.  She  asked  to  see  her  hus- 
band as  soon  as  he  was  brought  to  the  Milburn 
house,  but  when  told  that  it  would  be  injudicious 
she  became  reconciled.  As  soon  as  he  began  to 
mend  she  was  allowed  to  see  him  every  day  for  a 
short  time. 

The  President  was  taken  to  a  large  bed-room  on 
the  second  floor.  Everything  had  been  quietly 
arranged  for  him  before  his  arrival  from  the  hos- 
pital. Every  medical  appliance  was  within  easy 
reach,  the  professional  nurses  were  in  waiting, 
and  quarters  were  arranged  for  the  doctors. 

The  President  passed  the  first  night  after  the 
shooting  fairly  comfortably.  His  temperature 
increased  from  100°  to  100.6°  between  1  and  3  a. 
m.,  and  fears  were  entertained  that  peritonitis 
might  set  in.  The  doctors  chosen  to  care  for 
the  case,  P.  M.  Eixey,  M.  B.  Mann,  Eoswell  Park, 
H.  Mynter,  and  Eugene  Wasdin,  were  in  attend- 


506  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

ance  at  the  President's  bedside  all  night,  watching 
carefully  each  symptom. 

At  10 :40  p.  m.  the  doctors  issued  this  bulletin : 
u  The  President  is  rallying  satisfactorily  and  is 
resting  comfortably.  Temperature,  100.4° ;  pulse, 
124;  respiration,  24." 

At  1 :30  a.  m.  the  bulletin  read:  "  The  Presi- 
dent is  free  from  pain  and  resting  well.  Tempera- 
ture, 100.2°;  pulse,  120;  respiration,  24." 

At  3:15  a.  m.  the  bulletin  read:  "The  Presi- 
dent continues  to  rest  well.  Temperature,  101.6° ; 
pulse,  110;  respiration,  24. 

Saturday,  the  day  following  the  shooting,  was 
one  of  grave  anxiety.  The  President,  while  hold- 
ing his  own,  was  approaching,  so  the  doctors  said, 
a  crisis.  It  was  thought  that  Sunday  would 
decide  what  effect  the  shots  fired  by  Czolgosz 
would  be.  Dr.  Eixey  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
the  President  would  recover.  The  other  physi- 
cians refused  to  commit  themselves,  saying  that 
they  could  not  make  promises  until  further  de- 
velopments. 

An  X-ray  apparatus  was  brought  from  Thomas 
A.  Edison's  laboratory  with  which  it  was  intended 
to  locate  the  bullet  which  lodged  in  the  back.  It 
was  not  used.  On  Sunday  morning  at  5  o'clock 
the  physicians  issued  this  bulletin :  "  The  Presi- 
dent has  passed  a  fairly  good  night.  Pulse,  122; 
temperature,  102.4°;  respiration,  24." 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  507 

Sunday  proved  a  rather  uneventful  day.  The 
anticipated  crisis  did  not  materialize.  The  news 
was  good  throughout  the  day.  The  President's 
temperature  on  Sunday  evening  was  a  degree  lower 
than  it  was  [during  the  morning,  the  pulse  was 
slower,  and  the  respiration  easier.  Dr.  Charles 
McBurney  of  New  York,  one  of  the  most  noted 
surgeons  in  the  world,  arrived  during  the  day  and 
held  a  consultation  with  the  other  doctors  at  3 
o'clock  Sunday  afternoon. 

Immediately  following  the  consultation  this  bul- 
letin was  issued:  "  The  President,  since  the  last 
bulletin  (3  p.  m.)  has  slept  quietly,  four  hours 
altogether,  since  9  o'clock.  His  condition  is  satis- 
factory to  all  the  physicians  present.  Pulse,  128; 
temperature,  101°;  respiration,  28." 

The  President  improved  so  rapidly  on  Monday 
that  his  friends  declared  he  would  he  able  to  attend 
the  duties  of  his  office  within  a  month.  The 
worst  danger  was  regarded  as  past,  peritonitis 
seemed  no  longer  probable,  and  the  only  cause  for 
fear  was  the  possibility  of  a  sinking  spell. 

The  bulletins  throughout  Monday  were  hopeful. 
One  said  the  President  had  passed  a  somewhat 
restless  night,  sleeping  fairly  well;  and  another 
declared  the  President's  condition  was  "becoming 
more  and  more  satisfactory,"  and  adding  that 
" untoward  incidents  are  less  likely  to  occur." 
One  ig«*-.~'  at  3  p.  m.  stated:  "The  President's 


508  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

condition  steadily  improves  and  he  is  comfortable, 
without  pain  or  unfavorable  symptoms.  Bowel 
and  kidney  functions  normally  performed." 

The  last  bulletin  for  the  day,  issued  at  9:30  p.m., 
said:  "The  President's  condition  continues  favor- 
able. Pulse,  112;  temperature,  101°;  respira- 
tion, 27." 

Mrs.  McKinley  felt  so  encouraged  that  she  took 
a  drive  during  the  afternoon. 

News  from  the  bedside  on  Tuesday  was  more 
favorable  still.  The  danger  point  was  regarded  as 
past,  and  fast  recovery  was  the  general  prediction. 
The  doctors  had  only  two  services — aside,  of 
course,  from  careful  watching — to  perform.  One 
was  to  open  in  part  the  President's  outside  wound 
to  remove  some  foreign  substances,  and  the  other 
was  to  give  him  food  for  the  first  time.  It  de- 
veloped that  a  portion  of  the  President's  clothing 
had  been  carried  into  the  wound  by  the  bullet,  and 
this  had  not  all  been  removed  at  the  first  opera- 
tion. As  slight  irritation  was  caused  by  the  cloth, 
the  surgeons  removed  it.  The  operation  caused 
no  harm,  and  little  annoyance  to  the  patient. 

The  President  felt  so  well  that  he  asked  for 
some  newspapers  to  read.  The  request  was  denied. 
The  President  enjoyed  the  food  given  him — beef 
extract.  At  10:30  o'clock  on  Tuesday  night  the 
physicians  issued  this  bulletin:  "The  condition  of 
the  President  is  unchanged  in  all  important  par- 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  509 

tioulars.  His  temperature  is  100.6°;  pulse,  114; 
respiration,  28." 

Wednesday  was  another  day  full  of  hopeful 
signs.  The  President  continued  to  show  remark- 
able recuperative  powers  and  passed  the  day  with- 
out the  slightest  unfavorable  symptom.  He  was 
able  to  retain  food  on  his  stomach,  and  surprised 
and  amused  his  doctors  by  asking  for  a  cigar.  He 
was  not  allowed  to  smoke,  but  he  was  placed  in  a 
new  bed.  He  was  also  given  a  bath.  His  highest 
temperature  on  Wednesday  was  100.4.  That  was 
at  10  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  highest  point 
reached  by  his  pulse  was  120 — at  6  a.  m. — and  his 
respiration  remained  normal  at  26. 

It  was  on  Thursday,  just  six  days  after  the 
shooting,  that  the  President  suffered  a  relapse. 
Everybody  was  still  full  of  hopes  until  8.30  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  when  the  physicians  announced 
officially  that  the  President's  condition  was  not  so 
good.  The  problem  of  disposing  of  the  food  in  the 
stomach  was  becoming  a  serious  one,  and  the 
danger  of  heart  failure  increased.  At  midnight 
the  situation  was  critical.  Calomel  and  oil  were 
given  to  flush  the  bowels  and  digitalis  to  quiet  the 
heart.  The  bowels  moved  soon  afterwards,  and 
the  patient  improved.  The'pulse  dropped  to  120, 
and  the  prospect  was  regarded  as  brighter. 

Shortly  after  2  o'clock  Friday  morning,  the 
physicians  and  nurses  detected  a  weakening  of  the 


510  McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION. 

heart  action.  The  pulse  fluttered  and  weakened 
and  the  President  sank  toward  a  collapse.  The  end 
appeared  at  hand.  Restoratives  were  applied 
speedily,  but  they  did  not  at  once  prove  effective. 
It  was  then  decided  to  send  for  the  other  physi- 
cians, relatives,  members  of  the  Cabinet  and  close 
personal  friends  of  the  President. 

The  full  corps  of  doctors  were  soon  on  the  scene 
and  all  set  to  work  as  they  never  worked  before. 
About  6  a.  m.  the  President  rallied  and  seemed  to 
have  a  fighting  chance.  At  6:30  o'clock  he  was 
thought  to  be  dying.  At  7  o'clock  it  was  an- 
announced  by  Abner  McKinley,  brother  of  the 
President,  that  he  was  sleeping  quietly,  watched 
closely  by  his  physicians. 

At  8:40  o'clock  Mr.  Milburn  told  a  friend  who 
called  to  see  him  that  they  were  encouraged  by 
the  developments  of  the  last  half  hour  and  that 
they  thought  the  President  had  a  fighting  chance. 

About  9  a.  rn.  the  following  bulletin  was  issued: 
"The  President's  condition  has  improved  some- 
what during  the  last  few  hours.  There  is  a  better 
response  to  stimulation.  He  is  conscious  and  free 
from  pain.  Pulse,  128;  temperature,  99.8." 

The  remaining  hours  of  the  day  were  spent  in 
hoping  against  hope,  and  in  a  vain  fight  on  the 
part  of  the  doctors.  Members  of  the  Cabinet  and 
others  near  to  the  President,  came  and  went  at 
frequent  intervals  during  the  day,  deeply  moved 
over  the  situation. 


McKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  511 

At  12 :30  the  following  bulletin  was  issued : 

"The  President's  physicians  report  that  his  con- 
dition is  practically  unchanged  since  the  9  o'clock 
bulletin.  He  is  sleeping  quietly." 

At  2.30  in  the  afternoon  this  bulletin  was  given 
to  the  public : 

"The  President  has  more  than  held  his  own, 
and  his  condition  justifies  the  expectation  of  fur- 
ther improvement.  He  is  better  than  yesterday 
at  this  time.  Pulse,  123;  temperature,  99.4." 

At  4  p.  m.  came  this  bulletin : 

"The  President's  physicians  report  that  he  is 
only  slightly  improved.  Since  the  last  bulletin 
the  pulse  and  temperature  remain  the  same  as  at 
that  hour." 

This  was  followed  by  another  at  5 : 48  as  follows : 

"The  President  is  suffering  from  extreme  pros- 
tration. Oxygen  is  being  given.  He  responds  to 
stimulation  but  poorly.  Pulse,  125;  respiration, 
40." 

At  6:15  this  was  followed  by  another,  reading: 

uln  spite  of  vigorous  stimulation  the  President's 
depression  continues  and  is  profound.  Unless  it 
be  relieved  the  end  is  but  a  question  of  time," 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

Dies  Peacefully  at  2:15  A.  M.,  Saturday,  September  14 — Fond  Farewell 
of  Husband  and   Wife — Last  Words,    "  Nearer,    My  God,  to 
Thee." 

PEACEFULLY  and  gently  like  the  faint  flick- 
ering  of  a  burned-out  candle,  President 
McKinley  breathed  his  last  at  2:15,  Sat- 
urday morning,  September  14,  1901.    Words  of 
consolation  to  his  wife  were  the  last  that  passed 
his  lips,  and  they  came  after  a  general "  good-by  " 
said  to  the  American  people,  whom  he  had  loved 
all  his  life. 

Those  present  in  the  room  when  the  President 
died  were:  Dr.  Rixey,  Abner  McKinley,  Mrs. 
Sarah  Duncan,  Miss  Helen  McKinley,  Miss  Mary 
Barber,  Miss  Sarah  Duncan,  Lieutenant  James  F. 
McKinley,  W.  C.  Duncan,  T.  M.  Osborn,  Colonel 
Webb  C.  Hayes,  , Comptroller  Charles  G.  Dawes, 
Colonel  W.  C.  Brown,  Secretary  Cortelyou,  John 
Barber,  three  nurses  and  three  orderlies.  Mrs. 
McKinley  was  not  present.  She  had  taken  her 

512 


DEATH  OF  McKINLEY.  513 

last  farewell  from  her  husband  and  had  been  in- 
duced to  retire. 

Before  6  o'clock  the  evening  before,  it  was  clear 
to  those  at  the  President's  bedside  that  he  was 
dying,  and  preparations  were  made  for  the  last 
sad  offices  of  farewell  from  those  who  were  near- 
est and  dearest  to  him.  Oxygen  had  been  ad- 
ministered steadily,  but  with  little  effect  in  keep- 
ing back  the  approach  of  death. 

The  President  came  out  of  one  period  of  uncon- 
sciousness only  to  relapse  into  another.  But  in  this 
period,  when  his  mind  was  partially  clear,  occurred 
a  series  of  events  of  profoundly  touching  charac- 
ter. Down  stairs,  with  strained  and  tear-stained 
faces,  members  of  the  Cabinet  were  grouped  in 
anxious  waiting.  They  knew  the  end  was  near 
and  that  the  time  had  come  when  they  must  see 
him  for  the  last  time  on  earth. 

This  was  about  6  o'clock.  One  by  one  they  as- 
cended the  stairway — Secretary  Root,  Secretary 
Hitchcock  and  Attorney  General  Knox.  Secre- 
tary Wilson  also  was  there,  but  he  held  back,  not 
wishing  to  see  the  President  in  his  last  agony. 
There  was  only  a  momentary  stay  of  the  Cabinet 
officers  at  the  threshold  of  the  death  chamber. 
Then  they  withdrew,  the  tears  streaming  down 
their  faces  and  the  words  of  intense  grief  choking 
in  their  throats. 

At  7:55  o'clock  the  President  recovered    con- 


514  DEATH  OF  McKINLEY. 

sciousness,  and  realizing  that  the  end  was  at  hand 
he  asked  for  Mrs.  McKinley.  She  was  taken  into 
the  room  and  to  her  husband's  bedside.  All  left 
the  room,  save  one  nurse,  and  the  husband  and 
wife  were  practically  alone.  The  strong  face  of 
the  dying  man  lighted  up  with  a  smile  as  their 
hands  were  clasped. 

The  President  was  able  to  speak  faintly  as  his 
wife  bent  over  him.  What  he  said  only  he  and 
she  know.  Those  who  know  how  tenderly  and 
constantly  he  has  cared  for  her  and  how  great  his 
anxiety  has  been  for  her  ever  since  he  was  stricken 
down  by  the  anarchist's  bullet  can  hardly  speak  of 
that  pitiful  scene  without  almost  breaking  down 
at  the  thought  of  it. 

Just  before  the  President  lost  consciousness 
Mrs.  McKinley  knelt  at  his  side.  He  knew  her 
and  said:  "  Good-by,  all;  good-bye.  It  is  God's 
way;  not  our  will,  but  Thine  be  done."  And  then 
he  said  faintly,  speaking  to  no  one  in  particular, 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee."  It  was  a  long  leave- 
taking,  and,  finally,  they  carried  her  half  fainting 
to  her  room.  They  watched  over  her  anxiously. 
They  feared  the  effect  of  the  severing  of  bonds 
which  were  so  close  and  upon  which  she  was  so 
dependent.  News  of  what  was  happening  went 
down  stairs  and  out  into  the  street.  It  was 
received  everywhere  with  tears. 

''They  are  saying  good-bye  to  each  other," 


DEATH  OF  McKINLEY.  515 

pie  whispered  in  the  streets,  all  along  those 
crowded  blocks  near  the  house.  Every  one  was 
thinking  of  what  the  life  of  these  two  had  been, 
of  the  intense,  beautiful  devotion  each  to  the 
other,  of  what  a  tender,  chivalrous  lover-husband 
he  had  been. 

It  was  impossible  to  think  of  this  and  then  of 
the  scene  in  that  room  upon  which  the  thoughts 
of  the  whole  world  were  centered,  without  feeling 
the  eyes  grow  hot  under  the  lids  and  a  lump  come 
into  the  throat.  In  that  room  it  was,  for  the 
moment,  not  the  head  of  the  mightiest  nation  on 
earth  who  was  dying,  it  was  a  husband  and  lover 
standing  by  the  dark  river  and  giving  the  last 
look  of  love  to  that  sad,  lonely  invalid  woman,  to 
whom  his  smile  and  cheerful  words  were  literally 
the  breath  of  life. 

As  the  news  spread,  the  hush  that  was  always 
upon  the  hundred  or  more  people  within  the  ropes 
seemed  to  become  deeper.  It  was  like  the  solemn 
stillness  of  a  church,  so  far  as  those  nearest  the 
house  were  concerned.  The  only  sound  was  the 
swift  clicking  of  the  telegraph  instruments  as  the 
news  was  rushed  away  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  President  continued  in  an  unconscious  con- 
dition to  the  end.  Dr.  Rixey  remained  with  him 
until  death  came.  The  other  doctors  were  in  the 
room  at  times,  and  then  repaired  to  the  front 
room,  where  their  consultations  had  been  held. 


.516  DEATH  OF  McKINLEY. 

About  2  o'clock  Dr.  Rixey  noted  the  unmistak- 
able signs  of  dissolution,  and  the  immediate  mem- 
bers of  the  family  were  summoned  to  the  bedside. 
Mrs.  McKinley  was  asleep,  and  it  was  deemed 
desirable  not  to  awaken  her  for  the  last  moments 
of  anguish. 

Silently  and  sadly  the  members  of  the  family 
stole  into  the  room.  They  stood  about  the  foot 
and  sides  of  the  bed  where  the  great  man's  life 
was  ebbiug  away. 

In  an  adjoining  room  sat  the  physicians,  includ- 
ing Drs.  McBurney,  Wasdin,  Park,  Stockton,  and 
Mynter. 

It  was  now  2:05  o'clock,  and  the  minutes  were 
slipping  away.  Only  the  sobs  of  those  in  the 
circle  about  the  President's  bedside  broke  the 
awe-like  silence. 

Five  minutes  passed,  then  six,  seven,  eight — 

Now  Dr.  Rixey  bent  forward,  and  then  one  of 
his  hands  was  raised,  as  if  in  warning.  The  flut- 
tering heart  was  just  going  to  rest.  A  moment 
more  and  Dr.  Rixey  straightened  up,  and  with 
choking  voice  said: 

"The  President  is  dead!" 

Secretary  Cortelyou  was  the  first  to  turn  from 
the  stricken  circle.  He  stepped  from  the  chamber 
to  the  outer  hall,  and  then  down  the  stairway  to 
the  large  room  where  the  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Senators,  and  distinguished  officials  were  assem- 


DEATH  OF  McKINLEY.  517 

bled.  As  his  tense,  white  face  appeared  at  the 
doorway  a  hush  fell  upon  the  assemblage. 

"Gentlemen,  the  President  has  passed  away," 
he  said. 

For  a  moment  not  a  word  came  in  reply.  Even 
though  the  end  had  been  expected,  the  actual 
announcement  that  William  McKinley  was  dead 
fairly  stunned  these  men  who  had  been  his  closest 
confidants  and  advisers.  Then  a  groan  of  anguish 
went  up  from  the  assembled  officials .  They  cried 
outright  like  children.  All  the  pent-up  emotions 
of  the  last  few  days  were  let  loose.  They  turned 
from  the  room  and  came  from  the  house  with 
streaming  eyes. 

Leaving  the  stricken  circle  Secretary  Cortelyou 
left  the  house  and  walked  down  to  the  ropes 
where  the  waiting  correspondents  stood  ready  to 
send  the  sad  news  on  lightning's  wings  to  the 
people  who  had  always  been  uppermost  in  the 
thoughts  and  deeds  of  the  dead  President. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "the  President  passed 
away  at  2:15." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

BURIAL  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLET. 

Private  Funeral  Services — Lying  in  State  at  Buffalo  and  "Washington- 
Interment  at  Canton. 

AS  THE  daily  life  of  William  McKinley 
was  marked  by  the  greatest  simplicity, 
so  were  the  last  rites  and  services  over 
his  casket. 

The  private  funeral  services  were  held  at  the 
Milburn  residence,  Sunday,  September  15,  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  casket  had 
been  placed  in  the  library,  with  the  silken  folds 
of  an  American  flag  draped  about  it.  Red  roses, 
white  chrysanthemums  and  wreaths  of  purple 
violets  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  bier. 

Two  hundred  cards  had  been  issued  and  shortly 
before  the  appointed  time  the  invited  few  began 
to  arrive.  Senator  Hanna  was  among  the  first. 
President  Roosevelt  arrived  just  before  the  ap- 
pointed time  for  the  services.  The  immediate 
members  of  the  McKinley  family  gathered  in  a 

518 


BURIAL  OE  McKIXLEy.  Dllt 

room  adjoining  the  library.  Mrs.  McKinley  was 
not  with  them,  Surrounded  by  Mrs.  Barber,  Miss 
Barber,  Mrs,  Garret  Hobart  and  Dr.  Rixey,  she 
was  seated  in  the  upper  hallway  where  every  word 
pronounced  over  the  casket  that  contained  all 
that  she  held  dear  in  the  world  could  reach  her. 

Senator  Hanna  was  the  first  man  of  national 
prominence  to  enter  the  library.  He  was  followed 
by  the  Cabinet  members,  who  took  places  on  the 
left  of  the  casket.  As  President  Roosevelt  entered 
everyone  rose.  He  walked  gravely  tolthe  head  of 
the  casket.  For  a  moment  he  gazed  on  the  face 
of  McKinley.  Turning,  he  spoke  in  a  low  voice 
tol Secretary  Long,  who  stood  next.  He  evidently 
requested  that  cabinet  precedence  be  observed, 
for  there  was  an  immediate  change  in  the  positions 
of  the  Cabinet  members. 

When  the  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  Mil- 
burn  house  Mrs.  McKinley  was  unable  to  come 
down  stairs.  Sedatives  had  been  given  her  and 
the  President's  remains  had  been  taken  away 
without  her  knowing  of  their  removal. 

At  this  moment  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Edward  Locke 
of  the  Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  son  of  that  Dr.  Locke  who  for  many  years 
was  the  McKinley  pastor  at  Canton,  entered  the 
room. 

The  quartette  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
made  up  of  Miss  Kate  Tyrell,  Mrs.  Clara  Barnes 


520  BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY. 

Holmes,  Raymond  O.  Rietpeister  and  George  C. 
Sweet,  had  been  standing  in  the  dining  room,  and 
with  the  sweet  strains  of  that  favorite  hymn  of  the 
late  President,  "Lead  Kindly  Light,"  the  services 
were  begun. 

As  the  last  strains  died  away  Dr.  Locke  began 
reading  the  chapter  in  the  I.  Corinthians,  that, 
from  its  sad  associations,  has  become  so  familiar. 
In  a  low  but  clear  voice  he  read  it  to  its  conclusion. 

There  was  a  moment's  pause  after  he  had  fin- 
ished, and  then  the  quartet  sang  the  four  verses 
of  that  other  hymn,  so  dear  to  the  man  above 
whose  bier  the  mourners  stood,  that  as  he  passed 
into  the  last  unconsciousness,  his  lips  formed  its 
words  after  the  strength  to  speak  had  gone. 

Silently  the  assembled  men  and  women  framed 
with  their  lips  the  words  of  "Nearer,  my  God,  to 
Thee,"  as  the  choir  sang  it  through.  Dr.  Locke 
raised  his  hands  as  the  music  died  away.  He 
made  this  eloquent  appeal:  "Let  us  pray: 

O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past, 

Our  hope  for  years  to  come, 
Our  shelter  from  the  stormy  blast 

And  our  eternal  home. 

*We,  Thy  humble  servants,  beseech  Thee  for  manifesta- 
tions of  Thy  favor  as  we  come  into  Thy  presence.  We  laud  and 
magnify  Thy  holy  name  and  praise  Thee  for  all  Thy  goodness. 
Be  merciful  unto  us  and  bless  us  as,  stricken  with  overwhelm- 
ing sorrow,  we  come  unto  Thee. 

In  this  dark  night  of  grief  abide  with  us  till  the  dawning. 
Speak  to  our  troubled  souls,  0  God,  and  give  to  us  in  this  hour 


BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY.  521 

of  unutterable  grief  the  peace  and  quiet  which  Thy  presence 
only  can  afford.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  dost  answer  the 
sobbing  sigh  of  the  heart  and  dost  assure  us  that  if  a  man  die 
he  shall  live  again.  We  praise  Thee  for  Jesus  Christ,  Thy 
Son, our  Savior  and  elder  brother;  that  He  came  "to  bring  life 
and  immortality  to  light,"  and  because  He  lives  we  shall  live 
also.  We  thank  Thee  that  death  is  victory,  that '  'to  die  is  gain. " 

Have  mercy  upon  us  in  this  dispensation  of  Thy  provi- 
dence. We  believe  in  Thee— we  trust  Thee — our  God  of  love, 
"the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever." 

"We  thank  Thee  for  the  unsullied  life  of  Thy  servant,  our 
martyred  President,  whom  Thou  hast  taken  to  his  coronation, 
and  we  pray  for  the  final  triumph  of  all  the  divine  principles 
of  pure  character  and  free  government  for  which  he  stood 
while  he  lived,  and  which  were  baptized  by  his  blood  in  his 
death. 

Hear  our  prayer  for  blessings  of  consolation  upon  all 
those  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  administration  of 
the  affairs  of  the  government;  especially  vouchsafe  Thy  presence 
to  Thy  servant  who  has  been  suddenly  called  to  assume  the 
holy  responsibilities  of  our  chief  magistrate. 

0  God,  bless  our  dear  nation,  and  guide  the  ship  of  state 
through  stormy  seas.  Help  Thy  people  to  be  brave  to  fight 
the  battles  of  the  Lord,  and  wise  to  solve  all  the  problems  of 
freedom. 

Graciously  hear  us  for  comforting  blessings  to  rest  upon 
the  family  circle  of  our  departed  friend.  Tenderly  sustain 
Thine  handmaiden,  upon  whom  the  blow  of  this  sorrow  most 
heavily  falls.  Accompany  her,  0  God,  as  Thou  has  promised, 
through  this  dark  valley  and  shadow,  and  may  she  fear  no  evil, 
because  Thou  are  with  her. 

May  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God, 
the  father,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  us 
all  evermore.  Amen, 


522  BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY. 

As  Dr.  Locke  began  repeating  the  Lord's  prayer 
the  mourners  joined  with  him,  and  all  bowed  lo  w 
their  heads  as  he  pronounced  the  benediction. 

Then  a  man,  who  seemed  suddenly  to  have 
grown  old,  rose  from  his  seat  beside  Governor 
Odell  and  slowly  walked  alone  past  the  line  of  cab- 
inet officers  and  to  the  side  of  the  new  President. 

His  hands  clasped  behind  his  back,  his  head 
bent  down  on  his  great  chest,  Senator  Hanna 
stopd  and  gazed  for  the  last  time  on  the  face  of 
the  man  he  loved.  It  seemed  to  the  mourners  that 
he  stood  there  looking  down  at  his  dead  friend's 
face  for  fully  five  minutes.  In  reality  it  was 
nearly  two  minutes  before  he  turned,  and  slowly, 
sadly  retraced  his  steps  across  the  room. 

As  Senator  Hanna  sat  down  the  casket  was 
closed  and  the  soldiers  and  sailors  advanced  from 
the  points  where  they  had  been  stationed.  Lift- 
ing it  gently  they  slowly  began  their  solemn  march 
to  the  hearse,  which  stood  waiting  outside.  Close 
behind  the  casket  followed  President  Eoosevelt, 
with  Secretary  Root  on  his  left  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet  following.  Slowly,  very  slowly, 
they  took  their  way  into  the  hall,  out  the  front 
door,  down  the  steps  and  down  the  walk  to  the 
hearse,  while  a  band  posted  across  the  street 
softly  played  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee." 

As  the  funeral  cortege  passed  slowly  down  Del- 
aware avenue  the  little  host  that  had  listened  to 
the  services,  filed  quietly  out  of  the  house. 


BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY.  523 

Mrs.  McKinley  did  not  accompany  the  cortege 
from  the  house.  As  the  services  were  nearing  an 
end  she  exhibited  marked  signs  of  exhaustion  arid 
Dr.  Rixey  and  her  other  companions  gently  lifted 
her  from  her  seat  and  led  her  to  a  room. 

Then  they  closed  the  door  that  she  might  not 
hear  the  rhythmic  tread  of  the  marching  soldiers 
as  they  escorted  the  casket  from  the  house.  She 
was  utterly  worn  out  and  within  a  few  seconds  had 
lapsed  into  slumber. 

The  funeral  cortege  left  the  Milburn  house  at 
11:45  o'clock.  Slowly  and  solemnly,  in  time  to 
the  funeral  march,  it  moved  between  two  huge 
masses  of  men,  women  and  children,  stretching 
away  two  miles  and  a  half  to  the  city  hall.  Nearly 
two  hours  were  required  to  traverse  the  distance. 

During  the  afternoon  and  night  the  President's 
body  lay  in  state  in  the  city  hall.  Such  a  sponta- 
neous outpouring  of  people  to  show  their  regard 
for  a  man  whom  they  had  admired  and  loved  from  a 
distance  was  never  equaled  on  this  earth  under 
like  circumstances. 

The  hours  during  which  the  public  was  to  be 
permitted  to  view  the  remains  had  been  set  from 
1  to  6  o'clock.  More  than  twice  as  many  as  could 
hope  to  get  through  the  lines  in  that  time  came 
from  all  over  western  New  York  until  fully  200,000 
were  massed  during  the  morning.  In  the  face  of 
such  a  concourse  the  limit  was  extended,  but  the 


524  BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY 

patient  thousands  did  not  know  it.      They  merely 
stayed  on  through  the  storm  and  hoped. 

"For  nearly  ten  hours  they  streamed  through  the 
city  hall  corridor  where  the  President  lay,  passing 
in  two  lines  which  formed  faster  than  they  melted. 
Ten  thousand  an  hour  flowed  past  until  weather 
and  physical  collapse  wore  out  other  thousands  and 
the  thin  line  ended  at  11  o'clock  at  night. 

In  the  afternoon  Mrs.  McKinley  begged  to  be 
taken  to  her  husband.  When  told  that  the  body 
had  been  carried  to  the  city  hall,  where  the  people 
were  to  have  an  opportunity  to  see  it,  she  de- 
manded that  it  be  brought  back  to  her.  He  was 
her  husband,  she  had  a  right  to  him.  The  people 
had  all  his  best  years,  his  strength,  his  life.  In 
death  he  was  hers,  and  she  would  have  her  rights. 

Hysterically  she  cried  aloud  for  him  again  and 
again.  A  council  of  the  family  was  hastily  called, 
and  some  favored  sending  for  the  remains  of  the 
President  in  order  to  calm  the  anguish  of  the  widow 
with  the  soothing  sense  of  possession.  But  at 
this  moment  Mrs.  Hob  art,  widow  of  the  Vice 
President,  succeeded  in  convincing  Mrs.  McKin- 
ley that  it  was  her  duty  to  let  the  people  see  the 
face  of  their  beloved  President. 

Thanks  to  the  strong  influence  which  Mrs. 
Hobart  has  always  exerted  over  her  friend,  Mrs. 
McKinley  was  finally  calmed  and  induced  to  lie 
down  and  try  to  sleep.  Dr.  Eixey  prepared  an- 


BURIAL  OF  McKlXLEY.  525 

other  glass  of  medicine  and  the  crisis  was  momen- 
tarily over. 

Later  in  the  day  the  unhappy  woman  again 
demanded  the  body  of  her  husband,  but  for  the 
second  time  she  was  comforted  by  her  loving 
friends. 

Mrs.  McKinley's  anguish  over  her  loss  was  the 
saddest  and  most  pathetic  demonstration  in  the 
awful  tragedy. 

After  lying  in  state  at  the  Buffalo  city  hall  the 
remains  of  President  McKinley  were  brought  to 
Washington  by  special  train,  September  16.  The 
route  was  420  miles  long,  passing  through  dense 
masses  of  people  in  every  city,  town  and  hamlet. 
Everywhere  were  signs  of  deepest  mourning.  The 
train  drew  into  the  depot  at  Washington  at  8:38 
in  the  evening,  and  the  body  was  taken  to  the 
White  House,  where  it  was  guarded  during  the 
night  by  veterans  of  the  Civil  War. 

At  9  o'clock  on  the  following  day  the  funeral 
parade  formed  at  the  White  House  and  started  for 
the  rotunda  of  the  capitol  where  the  funeral  ser- 
vices were  held.  These  were  opened  by  the  choir  of 
the  Metropolitan  M.  E.  church,  where  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley had  been  a  worshiper,  singing  "Lead,  Kind- 
ly Light."  The  Rev.  Henry  E.  Naylor  offered  the 
invocation  and  Bishop  Andrews  delivered  the  fun- 
eral address.  This  was  followed  by  the  choir  sing- 
ing "Some  Time  We'll  Understand."  The  bene- 


526  BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY. 

diction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Chap- 
man. Following  this  came  one  of  the  most  dra- 
matic incidents  of  the  ceremony.  The  choir 
began  to  softly  syllable  the  first  lines  of  the 
hymn  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee."  For  several 
lines  the  choir  alone  followed  the  melodion  in 
the  time.  Then  the  volume  of  the  song  was 
audibly  increased.  A  few  of  the  audience,  unable 
to  restrain  themselves,  had  joined  their  voices  with 
those  of  the  chosen  singers.  Their  example  was 
followed  timidly  by  others  until  the  dome  rang 
with  the  notes  of  the  solemn  and  beloved  song. 

President  Eoosevelt  murmured  the  words  of  the 
song  along  with  the  other  auditors.  The  lines  of  his 
face,  which  had  been  hard  with  the  rigidity  of  the 
trial  and  grief,  softened  into  an  expression  of  the 
tenderest  sympathy  as  his  lips  moved  in  singing  the 
hymn.  Grover  Cleveland,  the  very  embodiment 
of  stately  dignity,  seemed  even  more  dignified  as 
his  lips  parted  with  a  barely  perceptible  motion  in 
response  to  the  rhythm  of  the  hymn.  Officers  of 
the  army  and  navy,  who  had  seen  death  in  its  worst 
form  without  a  tremor  and  possibly  who  had  not 
sung  a  church  hymn  for  many  years,  hummed  the 
tune  when  they  could  not  remember  the  words. 
All  eyes  were  streaming  with  tears. 

A  respectful  silence  followed  the  end  of  the  hymn 
which  marked  the  conclusion  of  the  funeral  services. 
A  few  moments  elapsed  and  then  the  rotunda  was 


BURIAL  OF  McKINLET.  527 

cleared  for  the  body  to  lie  in  state  to  be  viewed  by 
the  great  multitude  who  were  crowding  the  steps 
ready  to  pass  through  in  double  file  on  either  side 
of  the  coffin.  The  flag  was  draped  back  from  the 
head  of  the  casket,  the  velvet-covered  lid  was  re- 
moved and  the  President's  face  was  exposed  to  the 
light  which  poured  in  through  the  upper  windows 
of  the  dome. 

In  the  evening  the  body  was  removed  by  special 
train  to  the  McKinley  home  in  Canton.  All  along 
the  route  were  evidences  of  the  deepest  mourning. 
Everywhere  people  had  gathered  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  train  that  was  bearing  away  forever  all  that 
was  earthly  of  their  beloved  President. 

The  funeral  services  at  Canton  were  held  Thurs- 
day, September  19.  The  removal  of  the  remains 
from  the  old  homestead  to  the  First  Methodist 
Church,  where  the  services  were  held,  levied  the 
hardest  tribute  upon  the  sorrow  and  love  of  the 
people  of  Canton.  Mrs.  McKinley  lingered  by 
the  bier  up  to  the  moment  it  was  lifted  to  be  borne 
from  the  house  to  the  hearse.  She  wept  hyster- 
ically and  refused  to  be  comforted  when  led  away 
to  her  room.  She  did  not  attend  the  church  ser- 
vices or  the  ceremonies  at  the  receiving  vault  in 
the  cemetery. 

The  casket  was  covered  with  purple  orchids  and 
white  roses.  Every  head  within  a  block  of  the 
residence  was  bared  when  the  hearse,  drawn  by 


528  BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY. 

four  black  horses,  and  under  heavy  escort,  led  the 
way  to  the  church. 

The  pulpit  was  a  wilderness  of  flowers,  purple 
predominating.  There  were  forty-six  large  pieces 
on  the  platform,  200  in  the  vestibules.  A  small 
portrait  of  the  dead  President  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  bier,  which  was  spread  with  the 
national  colors  and  caught  in  a  knot  of  black  cord 
at  the  corner. 

Just  above  the  pulpit  was  a  panel  of  red  roses 
with  a  harp  made  of  white  immortelles.  At  the 
right  of  the  platform  was  a  mammoth  shield  worked 
in  roses  and  bearing  the  letters  "G.  A.  R.,"  and 
on  the  opposite  wing  of  the  platform  was  a  wreath 
of  white  and  purple  roses  bearing  the  inscription 
"  Our  Comrade."  This  was  presented  by  the  late 
President's  old  regiment,  the  Twenty-third  Ohio. 
All  the  floral  decorations  were  caught  with  white 
and  purple  ribbons.  The  balconies  were  festooned 
with  graceful  curves  of  black  cashmere,  while  the 
vestibules  were  a  solid  mass  of  black. 

All  was  hushed  when  the  great  church  organ 
played  Beethoven's  "  Funeral  March."  Some  of 
the  auditors  wept,  others  strained  their  eyes  to- 
ward the  sable  vestibule  where  it  was  expected 
the  casket  would  enter.  Still  others  looked  rue- 
fully at  the  old  pew  of  President  McKinley,  which 
was  entirely  covered  with  black  cloth.  This  pew 
is  four  seats  from  the  front  in  the  left  center  sec- 


BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY.  529 

tion  of  the  church.     It  was  not  occupied  during 
the  services. 

While  the  fingers  of  the  organist  still  lingered 
over  the  keys,  a  band  without  played  "Lead, 
Kindly  Light,"  and  the  flower-laden  casket  con- 
taining the  remains  of  the  late  President  was  borne 
into  the  church  and  laid  on  the  bier.  President 
Koosevelt  led  the  funeral  party.  He  was  ushered 
into  the  second  pew  from  the  front  of  the  right 
central  section. 

After  the  casket  was  placed  the  organ  rendered 
"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee."  Eev.  0.  B.  Milligan, 
pastor  of  the  Canton  Presbyterian  church,  offered 
prayer.  A  ladies'  quartet  then  rendered  an  orig- 
inal hymn,  entitled  "  The  Beautiful  Isle  of  Some- 
where." A  mixed  quartet  sang  "  Lead,  Kindly 
Light."  This  was  followed  by  a  scripture  reading 
from  the  nineteenth  psalm,  by  Dr.  John  A.  Hall, 
pastor  of  Trinity  Lutheran  church.  Kev.  E.  P. 
Herrick,  pastor  of  the  Trinity  Eeformed  church, 
read  from  Corinthians  xv,  41-58. 

Kev.  C.  E.  Manchester,  pastor  of  the  church, 
delivered  the  funeral  sermon.  No  text  was 
announced.  The  purpose  of  the  speaker  was  to 
pay  a  tribute  to  his  friend  and  parishoner.  The 
sermon  abounded  in  personal  anecdotes  illustrating 
the  Christian  character  of  the  illustrious  dead. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  Bishop  L.  W.  Joyce, 
of  Minneapolis,  offered  a  fervent  prayer.  "  Nearer, 


630  BUKIAL  OF  McKINLEX". 

My  G-od,  to  Thee  "  was  sung  again.  It  was  the 
benediction  to  a  notable  service.  A  moment's 
silence,  a  word  of  prayer  and  the  guard  again  bore 
aloft  the  casket.  The  funeral  was  over. 

Through  a  parted  sea  of  humanity  extending 
more  than  two  miles  the  funeral  car  of  the  dead 
President  was  drawn  to  its  long  home  in  Westlawn 
cemetery.  With  measured  tread  and  slow  stride 
Lieutenant  General  Miles  headed  the  file  of  army 
and  navy  officers  who  walked  at  the  right  of  the 
hearse. 

President  Eoosevelt  could  be  seen  through  the 
open  windows  of  his  carriage,  but  his  face  was  as 
expressionless  as  alabaster,  save  for  the  expression 
of  sorrow  which  overcast  the  features  of  all. 
Chopin's  funeral  march  was  the  prevailing  strain 
in  the  band  music,  while  minute  guns  played  from 
the  crest  of  Westlawn  cemetery  as  the  solemn 
column  wound  its  way  westward  and  northward. 

As  the  funeral  party  neared  the  approach  to  the 
cemetery  the  way  was  strewn  with  sweet  peas,  which 
had  been  sent  in  large  quantities  to  Canton  by  the 
school  children  of  Nashville,  Term.  Members  of 
the  Twenty-third  Ohio,  McKinley's  old  regiment, 
wept  as  they  picked  up  the  pretty  flowers  and 
tucked  them  away  in  the  lapels  of  their  coats. 

The  mausoleum  where  the  body  of  the  dead 
President  will  await  the  great  monument  that  will 
be  ereo^ed  in  his  memory  was  a  bower  of  roses. 


BURIAL  OF  McKINLEY.  531 

When  the  funeral  party  reached  the  receiving 
vault  the  casket  was  received  by  the  old  guard  of 
regulars  and  jackies  and  borne  to  the  vault  be- 
tween two  lines.  President  Roosevelt  was  the 
first  to  move  towards  the  vault.  He  was  escorted 
by  Colonel  Bingham  and  took  a  position  at  the 
right  of  the  mausoleum  door,  Secretary  Boot 
standing  at  the  head  of  the  left  line.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet  were  disposed  on  both  sides  of 
the  pathway  leading  to  the  vault,  with  the  army 
chiefs  on  the  right  and  navy  officials  on  the  left. 

As  the  flower-laden  casket  reached  the  portals 
of  its  resting  place  a  salvo  of  artillery  was  fired. 
Abner  McKinley,  the  President's  brother,  and  his 
wife  followed  the  remains  to  the  door  and  were 
succeeded  by  other  members  of  the  family. 

Bishop  Joyce  read  the  Methodist  burial  service, 
consisting  of  the  chapter  in  Revelations  describing 
the  vision  of  the  holy  city,  and  offered  a  brief 
prayer.  Secretary  Wilson  wept  as  the  preacher 
spoke  the  solemn  lines:  "Earth to  earth,  ashes 
to  ashes,  dust  to  dust." 

After  the  relatives  had  returned  to  their  car- 
riages, taps  were  sounded  by  eight  buglers  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  As  the  last  silvery  note  of  the  bugles 
died  away  sentries  were  posted  at  the  door  of  the 
receiving  vault  and  the  party  turned  to  go.  The 
beloved  fellow  citizen  had  been  laid  to  his  final 
rest  amid  the  weeping  of  a  nation. 


532  BUKIAL  OF  McKINLEY. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral  services  at  Canton, 
business  was  suspended  throughout  the  country 
and  the  doors  of  every  business  house  of  any 
respectable  pretentions  were  closed.  Memorial 
services  were  conducted  in  the  churches  and  me- 
morial parades  were  held  in  the  larger  cities.  For 
five  minutes  after  2:30  o'clock  there  was  absolute 
silence  and  quiet  in  the  cities,  except  the  tolling 
of  church  bells.  Parades  stopped  and  stood  at 
attention,  street  cars  stopped  while  the  men  con- 
ducting them  stood  with  bared  heads,  telegraph 
instruments  ceased  clicking,  and  railway  trains 
wherever  they  were  stopped.  Never  before  in  the 
history  of  the  nation  had  there  been  such  a  general 
demonstration  of  sorrow  and  such  an  outward 
exhibition  of  respect  for  the  illustrious  dead. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

TRIAL  AND   EXECUTION   OF  ASSASSIN. 


Czolgosz  Indicted  and  Convicted  of  Murder  in  the  First  Degree  at 
Buffalo — Executed  by  Electrocution  at  Auburn,  October  29,  1901. 


LEON  CZOLGOSZ,  the  assassin  of  President 
McKinley,  was  American  born,  the  son  of 
Polish  emigrants.  He  was  reared  under 
good  home  and  church  influences.  As  a  boy  he 
was  noted  for  his  taciturn  nature.  After  reaching 
young  manhood  he  became  studious,  with  a  strong 
leaning  toward  the  doctrines  of  Anarchy  and 
kindred  ocial  societies,  and  from  the  evidence 
produced  and  his  own  statements,  it  is  evident 
that  the  teaching  of  Anarchy  spurred  him  on  to 
commit  the  crime.  To  the  last  he  maintained 
that  he  alone  was  responsible  for  the  act  and  that 
he  had  no  accomplices,  saying,  "  I  killed  President 
McKinley  because  1  believed  it  to  be  my  duty. 
I  don't  believe  one  man  should  have  so  much 
service  and  another  man  should  have  none." 
By  occupation  Czolgosz  was  a  laborer,  and  a  shift- 

533 


534          ASSASSIN'S  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION. 

less  one  at  that,  and  the  foregoing  statement, 
coupled  with  his  leaning  toward  Anarchy,  indicates 
that  he  had  brooded  over  his  condition  compared 
with  that  of  those  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  until 
he  became  possessed  by  the  idea  that  in  the  re- 
moval of  the  President  was  a  remedy  for  his 
imagined  wrongs. 

Ten  days  after  the  death  of  President  McKinley 
his  assassin  had  been  indicted  by  the  grand  jury, 
put  to  trial,  and  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree.  The  machinery  of  tne  law  moved  with 
unprecedented  regularity  and  rapidity  for  a  case 
of  such  prominence.  There  were  no  delays  or 
dilatory  proceedings. 

The  trial  was  before  Judge  White  of  Buffalo. 
The  people  were  represented  by  District  Attorney 
Penney  in  person,  and  Judge  Lewis  and  Judge 
Titus  were  appointed  by  the  court  to  appear  for 
the  prisoner.  Czolgosz  maintained  during  the 
trial  the  same  stolidity  that  had  characterized 
him  since  he  committed  the  crime.  When  ar- 
raigned he  pleaded  guilty,  but  his  plea  was 
changed  on  the  suggestion  of  (he  court  and  the 
advice  of  his  counsel. 

The  testimony  introduced  by  the  people,  while 
brief,  covered  every  essential  part  of  the  crime. 
The  defense  offered  no  evidence.  When  the  state 
rested  its  case,  Judge  Lewis,  amid  profound 
silence,  arose  to  open  the  defense.  He  began  his 


ASSASSIN'S  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION.          535 

brief  address  by  explaining  the  position  of  himself 
and  his  colleague,  and  entreated  that  this  position 
be  understood  as  one  of  legal  necessity  and  not  one 
of  choice.  As  he  discussed  the  case  his  voice 
trembled  with  deep  emotion,  and  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks.  He  closed  by  saying  :  "That, 
gentlemen,  is  about  all  I  have  to  say.  Our  Pres- 
ident was  a  grand  man.  I  watched  his  career  for 
twenty  years,  and  always  had  the  profoundest 
esteem  for  him.  He  was  a  tender  and  devoted 
husband,  a  man  of  finest  character,  and  his  death 
was  the  saddest  blow  I  have  ever  known." 

As  he  concluded  he  sank  into  a  chair  and 
pressed  a  handkerchief  to  his  eyes.  So  strange  a 
defense  for  a  murderer  had  never  before  been 
heard.  Judge  Titus  then  arose  and  said:  "The 
remarks  of  my  associate  so  completely  cover  the 
ground  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  add  any- 
thing." 

In  charging  the  jury  Judge  White  paid  a  tender 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  dead  President.  The 
jury  retired,  and  thirty-five  minutes  later  brought 
in  a  verdict  of  murder  in  the  first  degree.  This 
was  the  24th  of  September.  Two  days  later  Leon 
Czolgosz  was  sentenced  by  Judge  White  to  die 
during  the  week  beginning  October  28.  The  assas- 
sin showed  signs  of  fear  as  the  judge  pronounced 
his  doom.  During  the  night  following,  Czolgosz 
was  secretly  removed  to  Auburn  penitentiary  to 


536         ASSASSIN'S  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION. 

await  his  execution.  On  arriving  at  the  prison  he 
collapsed  and  seemed  to  realize  for  the  first  time 
the  magnitude  of  his  offense. 

Czolgosz  was  electrocuted  on  the  morning  of 
October  29,  1901,  at  exactly  7:12:30  o'clock.  The 
witnesses  assembled  in  the  death  chamber  at  7 :08 
o'clock,  and  at  7:10:30  the  murderer  was  brought 
in.  He  was  intensely  pale,  and  the  four  guards 
who  accompanied  him  had ,  to  urge  him  forward 
after  he  had  stumbled  on  the  threshold  of  the  en- 
trance. The  assassin  had  refused  to  make  a  con- 
fession or  to  call  a  priest,  but  as  he  was  being 
seated  in  the  death  chair  and  the  electrical  appa- 
ratus was  being  fitted  to  his  head  he  stared  at  the 
guards  and  said : 

"I  killed  the  president  because  he  was  an 
enemy  of  the  good  people — of  the  working  peo- 
ple." 

His  voice  trembled  slightly  at  first,  but  gained 
strength  with  each  word,  and  he  spoke  perfect 
English. 

"I  am  not  sorry  for  my  crime,"  he  said  loudly, 
just  as  the  guard  pushed  his  head  back  on  the 
rubber  rest  and  drew  the  strap  across  his  fore- 
head and  chin.  As  the  pressure  of  the  straps 
tightened  and  bound  the  jaw  slightly  he  mumbled: 

"  I  am  awfully  sorry  I  could  not  see  my  father." 

It  was  exactly  7:11  o'clock  when  Czolgosz 
crossed  the  threshold.  He  had  just  finished  his 


ASSASSIN'S  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION.          537 

last  statement  when  the  strapping  was  completed 
and  the  guards  stepped  back.  Warden  Mead 
raised  his  hand  and  at  7:12:30  Electrician  Davis 
turned  the  switch  that  threw  1,700  volts  of  elec- 
tricity into  the  living  body. 

The  rush  of  the  current  threw  the  body  so  hard 
against  the  straps  that  they  creaked  perceptibly. 
The  hands  clinched  suddenly  and  the  whole  atti- 
tude was  one  of  extreme  tenseness.  For  forty- 
five  seconds  the  full  current  was  kept  on,  and 
then  slowly  the  electrician  threw  the  switch  back, 
reducing  the  current  volt  by  volt  until  it  was  cut 
off  entirely.  Then  just  as  it  had  reached  that 
point  he  threw  the  lever  back  again  for  two  or 
three  seconds.  The  body,  which  had  collapsed 
as  the  current  was  reduced,  stiffened  up  again 
against  the  straps.  When  it  was  turned  off  again 
Dr.  Macdonald  stepped  to  the  chair  and  put  his 
hand  over  the  heart.  He  said  he  felt  no  pulsa- 
tion, but  suggested  that  the  current  be  turned  on 
for  a  few  seconds  again.  Once  more  the  body  be- 
came rigid.  At  7:15  the  current  was  turned  off 
for  good. 

The  physicians  used  the  stethoscope  and  other 
tests  to  determine  if  any  life  remained,  and  at  7:17 
the  warden,  raising  his  hand,  announced:  "Gen- 
tlemen, the  prisoner  is  dead." 

The  witnesses  filed  from  the  chamber,  many  of 
them  visibly  affected,  and  the  body  was  taken 


538          ASSASSIN'S  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION. 

from  the  chair  and  laid  on  the  operating  table. 
The  autopsy  proved  that  the  brain  was  normal  or 
slightly  above  normal.  The  remains  were  depos- 
ited in  the  prison  cemetery  and  destroyed  by  acid 
and  quicklime  before  being  covered  with  earth. 

Such  was  the  end  of  one  of  the  most  despised 
men  that  ever  breathed  American  air. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

.THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 
BY  MUEAT  HALSTEAD 

Sketch  of  the  life  of  the  Hero  of  Santiago — His  public  career  ana 
important  achievements — Unanimously  nominated  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency. 

PRESIDENT  WILLIAM  McKINLEY  has 
reason  to  be  proud  that  on  the  Republican 
ticket  for  his  re-election  he  has  associated 
with  him,  as  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency, 
Theodore  Roosevelt.  Both  are  men  who  were  tried 
and  proven  true,  weighed  and  not  found  wanting,  in 
the  hours  of  their  country's  peril  and  the  days  of 
their  country's  peace.  In  time  of  war  both  were  at 
the  front  and  both  in  places  where  there  was  the 
thunder  with  the  deadly  hail  of  battle  about  them. 
It  may  not  be  so  well  remembered  by  the  brave  boys 
of  to-day,  who  in  the  enthusiasm  of  their  victory 
over  the  Spaniards  may  forget  the  equally  daring 
deeds  of  their  fathers,  but  it  remains  true  that  just 
as  Roosevelt  urged  on  and  was  in  front  of  his  Rough 
Riders,  the  First  United  States  Volunteer  Cavalry, 
so  it  was  with  Major  McKinley,  of  whom  General 

539 


540  THEODOKE  KOOSEVELT. 

Sheridan  said,  in  an  official  report  of  his  ride  to 
Winchester,  that  he  found  McKinley  far  in  front 
urging  his  men  to  rally,  one  of  the  officers  who  were 
"doing  their  duty." 

Another  point  of  interest  in  the  military  careers 
of  the  two  men  was  their  devotion  as  officers  to  the 
care  of  their  men.  McKinley,  then  a  mere  lacl  in  the 
commissary  department,  saw  during  a  severe  engage- 
ment that  though  it  was  his  seeming  duty  to  stay  in 
the  rear  and  watch  after  the  stores  in  his  charge,  yet 
the  men  in  front  were  hard-pressed  and  without  food, 
and  this  made  the  seeming  duty  a  certain  mistake. 
The  man's  part  was  to  get  to  the  fellow-soldiers  and 
give  to  them  sustenance  to  support  them  in  their  try- 
ing position  and  so  the  commissary  sergeant,  with 
shell  and  shrapnell  bursting  on  every  side,  went 
ahead  with  his  provisions  and  personally  risked  more 
danger  than  the  men  at  the  front  as  he  moved 
among  them  and  handed  down  to  them  in  the 
trenches  coffee  and  hard  tack. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  when  Spain  was  whipped 
and  the  horrid  hand  of  the  tropics  was  snatching 
away  his  brave  boys,  dared  to  be  sponsor  for  a  mes- 
sage to  the  home  government,  in  which  he  called 
attention  to  their  condition  and  the  very  real 
necessity  of  bringing  them  home,  away  from  the 
pestilence  and  the  miserable  death  in  camp?  at  which 
the  soldier  shudders  who  can  laughingly  face  death 
in  the  battlefield. 

The  selection  of  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  by  the 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT.  r.tl 

Republican  party  at  Philadelphia  is  singularly  appro- 
priate and  fitting,  for  both  are  men  of  the  Nation ; 
one  born  of  humble,  honorable  parentage,  who  has 
wisely  served  his  Government  as  soldier  and  states- 
man, and  the  other  born  to  the  heritage  of  the  old 
aristocracy  of  New  York,  who  was  equally  anxious 
to  do  and  successful  in  doing  a  citizen's  part  in  peace 
and  war. 

Very  briefly  the  career  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  is : 
He  was  born  in  the  City  of  New  York  on  October 
27,  1858.  He  is  of  the  eighth  generation  of  Roose- 
velts  who  have  lived  in  New  York. 

He  began  his  public  life  in  the  fall  of  1881  as  a 
member  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  having  been 
elected  to  the  Assembly  from  the  Twenty-first  dis- 
trict. He  was  re-elected  three  times,  serving  in 
1882,  1883  and  1884.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Cities  Committee,  and  after  his  first  year  was  the 
Republican  leader  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly. 

He  was  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  delegation 
from  this  State  to  the  National  Convention  in  1884, 
which  nominated  James  G.  Blaine.  In  1886  he  ran 
on  the  Republican  ticket  for  Mayor  of  New  Y<  >rk 
against  Abrain  S.  Hewitt  and  was  defeated.  He 
was  appointed  Civil  Service  Commissioner  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison  in  1889  and  was  retained  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland.  He  resigned  in  1895  and  was 
appointed  Police  Commissioner  in  New  York  by 
Mayor  Strong,  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
board. 


542  THEODORE  KOOSEVELT. 

He  was  appointed  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
by  President  McKinley  in  1897,  but  resigned  in  May 
of  the  following  year  and  came  to  New  York  to 
become  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  First  Cavalry, 
United  States  Volunteers,  the  world  renowned 
Roosevelt  Rough  Riders. 

He  returned  to  New  York  after  the  war  a  Colonel, 
and  was  elected  Governor  of  the  Empire  State. 

What  a  splendid  career  this  is,  even  in  the  meager 
outline,  the  story  of  an  American  boy,  who  was  not 
overpowered  by  the  advantages  of  his  birth,  but  was 
a  worthy  descendant  of  Americans  and  fitted  to  run, 
forced  to  run,  by  the  unanimous  will  of  his  country- 
men with  the  President  of  humbler  birth !  It  was 
truly  as  hard  for  the  one  as  for  the  other  to  rise  to 
their  exalted  positions. 

Governor  Roosevelt  of  the  great  State  of  New 
York  did  not  want  to  be  the  Vice-Presidential  nomi- 
nee, not  that  he  failed  to  appreciate  the  glory  and 
the  honor,  but  because  he  is  a  man  of  purpose,  and 
it  takes  more  than  a  single  term  for  such  a  man  to 
accomplish  all  that  should  be  done  in  the  way  of 
bettering  the  State  over  which  the  shadow  of  the 
Tammany  tiger  falls,  as  the  great  beast  shelters  the 
brothels  and  the  saloons,  and  rejoices  when  the  poor 
cry  for  ice,  because  that  increases  the  price  and  the 
profits  of  the  Mayor  and  the  Tammany  associates  of 
the  Ice  Trust.  There  was  further  work  for  Roose- 
velt to  do,  he  felt,  and  as  he  put  it  at  Philadelphia: 

"In  view  of  the  revival  of  the  talk  of  myself  as  a 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  543 

Vice-Presidential  candidate,  I  have  this  to  say:  It  is 
impossible  too  deeply  to  express  how  touched  I  a  in 
by  the  attitude  of  those  delegates  who  have  wished 
ine  to  take  this  nomination. 

"Moreover,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  how  thor- 
oughly I  understand  the  high  honor  and  dignity  of 
the  office — an  olfice  so  high  and  so  honorable  that  it  is 
well  worthy  the  ambition  of  any  man  in  the  United 
States. 

"  But,  while  I  appreciate  all  this  to  the  full,  I 
nevertheless  feel  most  deeply  that  the  field  of  my 
best  usefulness  to  the  public  and  to  the  party  is  in 
New  York  State,  and  if  the  party  should  see  fit  to 
renominate  me  for  Governor,  I  can  in  that  position 
help  the  national  ticket  as  in  no  other  way. 

"  I  very  earnestly  ask  that  every  friend  of  mind  in 
the  Convention  respect  my  wishes  and  my  judgment 
in  this  matter." 

Every  man  is  liable  to  be  in  the  wrong.  The 
Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York  had  but  one 
duty,  and  that  was  to  again  "Kally  round  Flag,"  and 
with  his  President  fight  the  foes  of  honest  money,  of 
national  honor  in  dealing  with  the  possessions  thai, 
have  come  to  us  with  the  war  with  Spain.  A  com- 
ment made  to  a  friend  not  long  before  he  went  to 
Philadelphia  illustrates  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
He  said  in  effect: 

"  How  will  I  ever  be  able  to  hold  myself  in  if  I 
am  Vice-President  and  there  occurs  a  debate  on  I!M« 
floor  of  the  Senate  upon  the  expansion  question?  If 


544  THEODOKE  ROOSEVELT. 

I  should  hear  a  bitter,  irritating,  specious  and  absurd 
speech  on  the  anti-expansion  side  I  should  feel  just 
like  flinging  down  the  gavel,  rushing  from  the  Vice- 
President's  place  to  the  floor  of  the  Senate  and 
plunging  into  the  battle." 

Again  "Teddy,"  as  the  people  love  to  call  him, 
was  in  error.  As  Vice-President  he  will  be  tolerant 
of  all  opposing  views,  but  will  not  be  wishy-washy  in 
properly  suppressing  those  who  are  careless  of  par- 
liamentary rules,  or  submitting  to  any  false  courtesy 
of  tradition  among  the  Senators  as  to  their  preroga- 
tives when  they  do  not  apply  themselves  to  business, 
or  where  they  are  directly  treasonable  to  the  United 
States  of  America. 

The  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders  could  not  be 
better  presented  than  he  was  at  Philadelphia  before 
the  National  Republican  Convention,  which  would 
and  did  nominate  him,  whether  he  would  or  no. 

It  is  interesting  and  very  proper  to  state  here  that 
among  the  many  present  was  a  young  woman,  a 
typical  American  woman,  the  mother  of  an  American 
brood  of  children,  who  did  not  weep  and  grow 
hysterical  when  Teddy  went  to  war,  and  that  as  he 
entered  the  hall  he  did  not  fail  to  stop  and  greet 
her,  the  mother  of  his  children.  She  heard  the 
nominating  speeches,  listened  to  her  big  husband 
second  the  nomination  of  the  President  and  wit- 
nessed the  glory  of  his  later  nomination,  when  the 
crowds  swarmed  about  him  after  the  splendid  roll  call 
of  the  States,  the  sonorous  alphabet,  beginning  with 


THEODOKE  ROOSEVELT.  54:, 

Alabama,  Laving  been  called  and  there  was  only  one 
delegate's  vote  missing,  that  of  the  Governor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  but  that  missing  vote  was  many 
times  repeated  in  the  wife's  heart,  so  that  it  need 
not  be  recorded  against  him. 

Colonel  Lafe  Young,  in  presenting  the  name  of 
Governor  Roosevelt  to  the  Convention  for  the  Vice- 
Presidential  nomination,  said: 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  I  have  listened 
with  profound  interest  to  the  numerous  indictments 
pronounced  against  the  Democratic  party,  and,  as  an 
impartial  reader  of  history,  I  am  compelled  to  con- 
fess that  the  indictments  are  all  only  too  true.  If  I 
am  to  judge,  however,  by  the  enthusiasm  of  this 
hour,  the  Republican  Relief  Committee  sent  out  four 
years  ago,  to  carry  supplies  and  succor  to  the  pros- 
trate industries  of  the  Republic,  has  returned  to 
make  formal  report  that  the  duty  has  been  dis- 
charged. [Applause.]  I  could  add  nothing  to  this 
indictment,  except  to  say  that  this  unfortunate  party 
through  four  years  of  legislation  and  administrative 
control  had  made  it,  up  to  1896,  impossible  for  an 
honest  man  to  get  into  debt,  or  to  get  out  of  it. 

"  But,  my  fellow-citizens,  you  know  my  purpose, 
you  know  the  heart  of  this  Convention.  The  coun- 
try never  called  for  patriotic  sons  from  any  given 
family,  but  more  were  offered  than  there  was  room 
for  on  the  enlistment  roll.  When  this  Convention 
and  this  great  party  called  for  a  candidate  for  Vice- 
President  two  voices  responded,  one  from  the  Missis- 


546  THEODOEE  ROOSEVELT. 

sippi  Valley  by  birth,  another  by  loving  affection 
and  adoption. 

"  It  is  my  mission,  representing  that  part  of  the 
great  Louisiana  purchase,  to  withdraw  one  of  these 
sons  and  suggest  that  the  duty  be  placed  upon  the 
other.  I  therefore  withdraw  the  name  of  Jonathan 
P.  Dolliver,  of  Iowa,  a  man  born  with  the  thrill  of 
the  Lincoln  and  Fremont  campaigns  in  his  heart  and 
with  the  power  to  stir  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
men  as  part  of  his  birthright. 

"  We  turn  to  this  other  adopted  son  of  the  great 
middle  West,  and  at  this  moment  I  recall  that  two 
years  ago  to-day  as  many  men  as  there  are  men  and 
women  in  this  great  hall  were  on  board  sixty  trans- 
ports lying  off  Santiago  harbor,  in  full  view  of  the 
bay,  with  Morro  Castle  looming  up  upon  the  right 
and  another  prominence  upon  the  left,  with  the  open- 
ing of  the  channel  between. 

"  On  board  those  transports  were  twenty  thousand 
soldiers  that  had  gone  away  from  our  shores  to  lib- 
erate another  race,  to  fulfill  no  obligation  but  that  of 
humanity. 

"As  campaign  followers  there  were  those  who 
witnessed  this  great  spectacle  of  that  fleet,  and  on 
the  ship  Yucatan  was  that  famous  regiment  of 
Rough  Eiders  of  the  far  West  and  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  [Applause.]  In  command  of  that  regiment 
was  that  fearless  young  American,  student,  scholar, 
plainsman,  reviewer,  historian,  statesman,  soldier,  of 
the  middle  West  by  adoption,  of  New  York  by 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  547 

birth.  That  fleet  sailing  around  the  point,  coming 
to  the  place  of  landing,  stood  off  the  harbor,  t\\<> 
years  ago  to-morrow,  and  the  navy  bombarded  that 
shore  to  make  a  place,  for  landing,  and  no  man  who 
lives  who  was  in  that  campaign  as  an  officer,  as  a 
soldier,  or  as  a  camp  follower,  can  fail  to  recall  the 
spectacle;  and,  if  he  closes  his  eyes  he  sees  the  awful 
scenes  in  that  campaign  in  June  and  July,  1898. 
Then,  the  landing  being  completed,  there  were  those 
who  stood  upon  the  shore  and  saw  these  indomitable 
men  land,  landing  in  small  boats  through  the  waves 
that  dash  against  the  shore,  landing  without  har- 
bor, but  land  they  did,  with  their  accouterments  on 
and  their  weapons  by  their  sides.  And  those  who 
stood  upon  the  shore  and  saw  these  men  come  on 
thought  they  could  see  in  their  faces,  'Stranger,  CMII 
you  tell  me  the  nearest  road  to  Santiago?'  [Ap- 
plause.] 

"  That  is  the  place  they  were  looking  for.  And 
the  leader  of  the  campaign  of  one  of  those  regiments 
shall  be  the  name  that  I  shall  place  before  this  Con- 
vention for  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States.  [Applause.] 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  know  you  have 
been  here  a  long  time  and  that  you  have  had  politics 
in  abundance.  I  know  the  desire  to  complete  the 
work  of  this  Convention,  but  I  cannot  forbear  to 
say  that  this  occasion  has  a  higher  significance  than 
one  of  politics.  The  campaign  of  this  year  is  higher 
than  politics. 


548  THEODOEE  ROOSEVELT. 

"  In  fact,  if  patriotism  could  have  its  way  there 
would  be  but  one  political  party  and  but  one 
electoral  ticket  in  any  State  of  the  Union,  because 
political  duty  would  enforce  it.  In  many  respects 
the  years  1898  and  1899  have  been  the  great  years 
of  the  Republic. 

"  There  is  not  under  any  sun  or  any  clime  any  man 
or  government  that  cares  to  insult  the  flag  of  the 
United  States.  Not  one.  We  are  a  greater  and  a 
broader  people  on  account  of  these  achievements. 
Uncle  Sam  has  been  made  a  cosmopolitan  citizen  of 
the  world.  No  one  questions  his  prowess  or  his 
bravery.  As  the  result  of  these  campaigns  and  as 
the  result  of  the  American  spirit,  my  fellow-citizens, 
the  American  soldier,  ten  thousand  miles  away  from 
home,  with  a  musket  in  his  hands,  says  to  the 
aggressor,  to  those  who  are  in  favor  of  tyranny: 
'Halt!  Who  comes  there?'  and  the  same  spirit 
says  to  the  beleaguered  hosts  of  liberty :  *  Hold  the 
fort  for  I  am  coming ! '  Thus  says  the  spirit  of 
Americanism.  Now,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I 
place  before  you  this  distinguished  leader  of  Repub- 
licanism of  the  United  States,  this  leader  of  the 
aspirations  of  the  people,  whose  hearts  are  right, 
and  this  leader  of  the  aspirations  of  the  young  men 
of  this  country.  Their  hearts  and  consciences  are 
with  this  young  leader,  whom  I  shall  name  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States,  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  of  New  York."  [Loud  cheering.] 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  MO 

Senator  Depew  seconded  the  nomination  of  Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt  and  said : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention:  Permit  me  to  state 
to  you  at  the  outset  that  I  am  not  upon  the  pro- 
gramme, but  I  will  gladly  perform  the  pleasant  duty 
of  announcing  that  New  York  came  here,  as  did  every 
other  delegation,  for  Colonel  Roosevelt  for  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  [Applause.] 

"When  Colonel  Roosevelt  expressed  to  us  his 
wish  that  he  should  not  be  considered  we  respected 
it,  and  we  proposed  to  place  in  nomination,  by  our 
unanimous  vote,  our  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Hon. 
Timothy  L.  Woodruff.  [Applause.] 

"Now  that  the  Colonel  has  responded  to  the  call 
of  the  Convention  and  the  demand  of  the  people, 
New  York  withdraws  Mr.  Woodruff  and  puts  Roose- 
velt in  nomination. 

"I  had  the  pleasure  of  nominating  him  two  years 
ago  for  Governor,  when  all  the  signs  pointed  to  the 
loss  of  New  York  in  the  election,  but  he  charged  up 
and  down  the  old  State  from  Montauk  Point  to 
Niagara  Falls  as  he  went  up  San  Juan  Hill  [ap- 
plause], and  the  Democrats  fled  before  him  as  the 
Spaniards  had  in  Cuba.  [Applause.] 

"It  is  a  peculiarity  of  American  life  that  our  men 
are  not  born  to  anything,  but  they  get  there  after- 
wards. McKinley,  a  young  soldier,  and  coming  out 
a  Major ;  McKinley,  a  Congressman,  and  making  a 
tariff;  McKinley,  a  President,  elected  because  he 
represented  the  protection  of  American  industries. 


THEODOKE  ROOSEVELT. 

and  McKinley,  after  four  years7  development,  in 
peace,  in  war,  in  prosperity  and  in  adversity,  tne 
greatest  President  save  one  or  two  that  this  countiy 
ever  had  and  the  greatest  ruler  in  Christendom 
to-day.  [Applause.] 

"  So  with  Roosevelt — we  call  him  *  Teddy.'  [Ap- 
plause.] He  was  the  child  of  New  York — of  New 
York  City — the  place  that  you  gentlemen  from  the 
West  think  means  '  coupons,  clubs  and  eternal  dam- 
nation for  everyone.' 

-  •  Teddy/  this  child  of  Fifth  Avenue — he  was  the 
child  of  the  clubs ;  he  was  the  child  of  the  exclusive- 
ness  of  Harvard  College,  and  he  went  West  and 
became  a  cowboy  [applause]  ;  and  then  he  went  into 
the  Navy  Department  and  became  Assistant  Secre- 
tary. 

"He  gave  an  order,  and  the  old  chiefs  of  bureaus 
came  to  him  and  said:  'Why,  Colonel,  there  is  no 
authority  and  no  requisition  to  burn  this  powder.' 
4  Well,'  said  the  Colonel,  *  we  have  got  to  get  ready 
when  war  comes,  and  powder  was  manufactured  tu 
be  burned.'  [Applause.] 

"And  the  burning  of  that  powder  sunk  Cervera's 
fleet  outside  of  Santiago  harbor,  and  the  fleet  in 
Manila  Bay.  [Applause.] 

"At  Santiago  a  modest  voice  was  heard,  exceed- 
ingly polite,  addressing  a  militia  regiment,  lying 
upon  the  ground,  while  the  Spanish  bullets  were 
flying  over  them.  This  voice  said :  '  Get  one  side, 
gentlemen,  please ;  one  side,  gentlemen,  'please,  that 
my  men  can  get  out.' 


THEODOEE   ROOSEVELT. 

"And  when  this  polite  roan  got  his  mei.  I  he 

open  where  they  could  face  the  bayonet  and  : 
bullet,  there  was  a  transformation,  and  the  trans- 
formation was  that  the  dude  had  become  a  cow' 
the  cowboy  had  become  a  soldier,  the  soldier 
become  a  hero,  and  rushing  up  the  hill,  pistol  in 
hand  [great  applause],  the  polite  man  shouted  to  the 
militiamen  lying  down:      'Give  them  hell,  I 
give  them  hell.7     [Applciuse.] 

'Jlusion  has  been  made  by  one  of  the  speakers 
to  the  fact  that  the  Democratic  Convention  i 
meet  on  the  Fourth  of  July.     Great  Scott!    The 
Fourth  of  July  !  [Laughter.]  On  the  Fourth  of  July 
all  the  great  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  all  the  g 
heroes  of  the  war  of  1812,  all  the  great  heroes  of 
Mexico,  and  the  heroes  of  the  war  with  Spain,  who 
are   not  dead,  will  be  in  processions  all   over  the 
country,  those  mighty  spirits,  but  they  will  not  be  at 
the  Democratic  Convention  at  Kansas  Citv. 

w 

[A  voice :  u  And  the  war  of  the  rebellion."] 
u  And  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  There  is  one  gen- 
tleman who  is  detained  from  there  and  from  the  wel- 
come which  they  would  delight  to  give  him,  but  he 
is  at  present  engaged  in  running  a  foot  race  under 
the  blazing  sun  from  the  soldiers  of  the  United 

O 

States.     [Laughter  and  applause.] 

"  George  Washington's  spirit  will  not  be  there,  but 
George  Washington  Aguinaldo,  if  he  could,  would 
be  there  as  a  welcome  delegate.  [Laughter  and 
applause.] 


552  THEODORE   ROOSEVELT. 

"  And  then  will  come  the  great  card  of  the  Con- 
vention, headed  by  the  great  Bryan  himself.  'Down 
with  the  trusts.'  'Down  with  the  trusts.'  And 
when  the  applause  is  over  it  will  be  found  that  the 
pitchers  on  the  table  have  been  broken  by  the 
clashing  of  the  ice  within  [prolonged  laughter  and 
cheering],  for  that  ice  will  be  making  merry  at  five 
cents  a  chunk. 

"  I  heard  a  story — this  is  a  brand  new  story.  It  is 
the  vintage  of  June,  1900.  Most  of  my  stories  are 
more  venerable.  There  was  a  lady  with  her  husband 
in  Florida  last  winter.  He  a  consumptive  and  she  a 
strenuous  and  tumultuous  woman.  [Laughter.]  Her 
one  remark  was,  as  they  sat  on  the  piazza,  'Stop 
coughing,  John.' 

"John  had  a  hemorrhage.  The  doctor  said  he 
must  stay  in  bed  six  weeks.  His  tumultuous  wife 
said :  '  Doctor,  it  is  impossible.  We  are  traveling 
on  a  time-limited  ticket,  and  we  have  got  several 
more  places  to  go  to.'  [Laughter  and  applause.] 
So  she  carried  him  oft'. 

"  The  next  station  they  got  to  the  poor  man  died, 
and  the  sympathetic  hotel  proprietor  said:  'Poor 
madam,  what  shall  we  do?'  She  said:  'Box  him 
up.  I  have  got  a  time-limited  ticket  and  several 
more  places  to  go  to.'  [Laughter  and  applause.] 

"Now,  we  buried  16  to  1  in  a  1896.  We  put  a 
monument  over  it  weighing  as  many  tons  as  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  when  gold  was  put  into  the  statutes 
by  a  Republican  Congress  and  the  signature  of 
William  McKinley. 


THEODOKE  EOOSEVELT.  553 

"Colonel  Bryan  has  been  a  body-snatcher.  He 
has  got  the  corpse  out  from  under  the  monument, 
but  it  is  dead.  He  has  got  it  in  its  coffin,  carrying 
it  along,  as  the  bereaved  widow,  because  he  says:  'I 
must,  I  must;  I  am  wedded  to  this  body  of  sin  and 
death.  I  must,  I  must,  because  I  have  a  time  limit 
which  expires  in  November.'  [Laughter  and  ap- 
plause.] 

"  I  remember  when  1  used  to  go  abroad.  It  is  a 
good  thing  for  a  Yankee  to  go  abroad.  I  used  to  be 
ashamed,  because  everywhere  they  would  s<-iv: 
1  What  is  the  matter  with  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence when  you  have  slavery  in  your  land?' 

"  Well,  we  took  slavery  out,  and  now  no  American 
is  ashamed  to  go  abroad.  When  I  went  abroad 
afterwards  the  ship  was  full  of  merchants  buying 
iron,  and  buying  steel,  and  buying  wool,  and  buying 
cotton  and  all  kinds  of  goods. 

"  Now,  when  an  American  goes  around  the  world, 
what  happens  to  him  when  he  reaches  the  capital  of 
Japan?  He  rides  on  an  electric  railway  made  by 
American  mechanics.  When  he  reaches  the  territory 
of  China  he  rides  under  an  electric  light  invented 
by  Mr.  Edison,  and  put  up  by  American  artisans. 

"When  he  goes  over  the  great  railway  across 
Siberia,  from  China  to  St.  Petersburg,  he  rides  <>n 
American  rails  in  cars  drawn  by  American  locomo- 
tives. When  he  goes  to  Germany  he  finds  our  iron 
and  steel  climbing  over  a  $2.50  tariff,  and  thereby 
scaring  the  Kaiser  most  out  of  his  wits.  [Laughter.] 


554  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

"  When  he  reaches  the  great  Exposition  at  Paris 
he  finds  the  French  winemaker  saying  that  American 
wine  cannot  be  admitted  there  for  the  purposes  of 
judgment.  When  he  goes  to  old  London,  he  gets 
for  breakfast  California  fruit.  He  gets  for  luncheon 
biscuit  and  bread  made  of  Western  flour,  and  he 
gets  for  dinner  ' roast  beef  of  old  England'  taken 
from  the  plains  of  Montana.  [Laughter.]  His  feet 
rest .  on  a  carpet  marked  'Axminster/  made  at 
Yonkers,  N.  Y.  [Renewed  laughter.] 

"Now,  my  friends,  this  canvass  we  are  entering 
upon  is  a  canvass  of  the  future.  The  past  is  only 
for  record  and  for  reference.  And,  thank  God,  we 
have  a  reference  and  a  record. 

u  What  is  the  tendency  of  the  future  ?  Why  this 
war  in  South  Africa  ?  Why  this  hammering  at  the 
gates  of  Pekin  ?  Why  this  marching  of  troops  from 
Asia  to  Africa  ?  Why  these  parades  of  people  from 
other  empires  to  other  lands  ? 

"  It  is  because  the  surplus  productions  of  the  civil- 
ized countries  of  modern  times  are  greater  than 
civilization  can  consume.  It  is  because  this  overpro- 
duction goes  back  to  stagnation  and  to  poverty. 

"  The  American  people  now  produce  two  thousand 
million  dollars'  worth  more  than  we  can  consume, 
and  we  have  met  the  emergency ;  and,  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  by  the  statesmanship  of  William  Me- 
Kinley,  and  by  the  valor  of  Roosevelt  and  his 
associates  [applause],  we  have  our  market  in  Cuba, 
we  have  our  market  in  Porto  Rico,  we  have  our 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT.  555 

market  in  Hawaii,  we  have  our  market  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, and  we  stand  in  the  presence  of  eight  hun- 
dred millions  of  people,  with  the  Pacific  as  an 
American  lake,  and  the  American  artisan  producing 
better  and  cheaper  goods  than  any  country  in  the 
world;  and,  my  friends,  we  go  to  American  labor 
and  to  the  American  farm  and  say  that,  with  Mc- 
Kinley  for  another  four  years,  there  is  no  congestion 
for  America. 

"Let  invention  proceed,  let  production  go  on,  let 
the  mountains  bring  forth  their  treasures,  let  the  fac- 
tories do  their  best,  let  labor  be  employed  at  the 
highest  wages,  because  the  world  is  ours,  and  we  have 
conquered  it  by  Republican  principles  and  by  Re- 
publican persistency  in  the  principles  of  American 
industry  and  of  America  for  Americans.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

"  You  and  I,  my  friends — you  from  New  England 
with  all  its  culture  and  its  coldness,  and  you  from  the 
Middle  West,  who,  starting  from  Ohio,  and  radiating 
in  every  direction,  think  you  are  all  there  is  of  it ; 
you  from  the  West  who  produced,  on  this  platform,  a 
product  of  New  England  transformed  to  the  West 
through  New  York,  that  delivered  the  best  presid- 
ing officer's  speech  in  oratory  and  all  that  makes  up 
a  great  speech  that  has  been  heard  in  many  a  day  in 
any  convention  in  this  country.  [Depew  referred  to 
Senator  Wolcott.]  It  was  a  glorious  tiling  to  sci- 
the  fervor  of  the  West  and  the  culture  and  polish  of 
New  England  giving  us  an  ammunition  wagon  from 


556  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

which  the  spellbinder  everywhere  can  draw  the  pow- 
der to  shoot  down  opposition  East  and  West  and 
North  and  South. 

"  Many  of  you  I  met  in  convention  four  years  ago. 
We  all  feel  what  little  men  we  were  then  compared 
with  what  we  are  to-day.  There  is  not  a  man  here 
that  does  not  feel  400  per  cent,  bigger  in  1900  than 
he  did  in  1896,  bigger  intellectually,  bigger  hope- 
fully, bigger  patriotically,  bigger  in  the  breast,  from 
the  fact  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  a  country  that  has 
become  a  world  power  for  peace,  for  civilization  and 
for  the  expansion  of  its  industries  and  the  products 
of  its  labor. 

"  We  have  the  best  ticket  ever  presented.  [Ap- 
plause.] We  have  at  the  head  of  it  a  Western  man 
with  Eastern  notions,  and  we  have  at  the  other  end 
an  Eastern  man  with  Western  character  [loud  ap- 
plause]— the  statesman  and  the  cowboy  [laughter], 
the  accomplished  man  of  affairs  and  the  heroic 
fighter.  The  man  who  has  proved  great  as  Presi- 
dent, and  the  fighter  who  has  proved  great  as  Gov- 
ernor. [Applause.]  We  leave  this  old  town  simply 
to  keep  on  shouting  and  working  to  make  it  unani- 
mous for  McKinley  and  for  Roosevelt." 

The  biographical  sketches  of  Roosevelt  which 
accompanied  the  news  of  his  nomination  have  failed 
to  give  an  adequate  account  of  his  notable  ancestry. 
This  is  characteristic,  however,  of  the  American 
spirit,  which  pays  little  attention  to  what  a  man's 
father  and  grandfather  were,  but  a  great  deal  to 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT.  557 

what  lie  is.  Governor  Roosevelt's  father  was  a  mer- 
chant of  high  standing  and  integrity.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  he  made  it  a  rule  to  devote  only  five 
days  a  week  to  his  business.'  Saturday  he  gave  to 
charitable  work  among  the  poor,  and  Sunday  to 
religious  devotion  and  rest.  President  Hayes  ap- 
pointed Governor  Roosevelt's  father  as  Collector  of 
the  Port  of  New  York,  then,  as  now,  the  leading 
federal  position  in  that  State,  but  then  of  more  polit- 
ical influence  than  it  is  now.  The  Senate,  however, 
declined  to  confirm  him.  His  brother,  Robert  B. 
Roosevelt,  uncle  of  the  Governor,  and  still  living,  is 
a  Democrat  of  the  gold  faction.  He  has  been 
prominent  for  many  years  in  New  York  State.  He 
was  the  first  President  of  the  State  Fisheries  Com- 
mission, and  has  served  in  Congress  and  as  Minister 
to  the  Netherlands.  The  Governor's  grandfather, 
Cornelius  V.  S.  Roosevelt,  was  noted  in  his  day  as  a 
merchant  and  philanthropist.  He  had  a  brother, 
James,  who  long  served  as  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  for  the  State.  Another  member  of  the  family 
of  that  generation  devoted  his  fortune  to  the  found- 
ing of  Roosevelt  Hospital,  one  of  the  best  institu- 
tions of  the  kind  in  the  city.  Cornelius  V.  S.  Roose- 
velt was  grandson  of  Isaac  Roosevelt,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Kingston  Convention  of  1777,  which 
framed  the  first  Constitution  of  the  State,  and  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Convention  of  178G,  which  ratified  tin- 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  lie  little 
dreamed  that  his  great-great-grandson  would,  as 


558  THEODOEE   ROOSEVELT. 

Governor,  execute  the  Constitution  he  helped  to 
frame,  and  as  Vice-President  help  to  maintain  the 
Federal  Constitution  which  he,  with  others,  ratified. 
Isaac  Roosevelt  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
his  day,  and  served  on  the  Committee  of  100  which 
undertook  to  restore  order  in  the  city  in  the  trouble- 
some time  of  1775.  He  was  for  several  years  Presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  New  York,  the  oldest  in  the 
city.  One  of  his  sons  was  a  Director  of  the  Mer- 
chants' Bank  and  prominent  in  the  sugar  trade. 
Another  son,  Nicholas,  was  an  inventor  and  asso- 
ciated with  Fulton  in  the  first  practical  application 
of  steam  to  navigation.  Another  Roosevelt  of  a 
more  recent  generation  was  a  noted  builder  of 
church  organs.  The  Roosevelt  family  dates  back  to 
1648,  and  has  been  distinguished  during  all  that 
period.  The  Governor,  however,  is  the  first  to 
achieve  fame  in  war  and  literature,  as  well  as  pol- 
itics. The  first  of  the  family  in  this  country  is  said 
to  have  been  Claes  Marten eze  von  Roosevelt,  or 
otherwise  Nicholas,  son  of  Martin,  of  Rosefield,  a 
native  of  Holland.  Theodore  Roosevelt's  father, 
Theodore,  married  Martha,  daughter  of  James  and 
Martha  Oswald  Bulloch,  of  Roswell,  Ga.,  both  of 
whom  were  descendants  from  Revolutionary  stock. 

Of  such  blood  came  Governor  Roosevelt,  candidate 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States.  As  a 
little  fellow  he  was  delicate.  As  he  played  with  the 
children  of  his  neighbors  of  fashionable  Murray  Hill, 
he  realized  that  he  was  not  as  strong  as  they  and  the 


THEODOEE  ROOSEVELT.  559 

will  that  has  since  proven  itself  and  the  courage  of 
San  Juan  Hill  were  in  him.  He  set  his  jaw,  and 
from  "  follow  my  leader  "  where  he  was  the  last  boy 
to  being  the  pathfinder  in  daring  risk-neck  schemes 
he  pushed  his  way.  He  began  to  grow  strong. 

He  was  educated  at  home  by  private  tutors  and 
yet  to-day  there  is  no  more  ardent  believer  in  the 
public  schools.  He  was  a  hard  student,  the  kind 
going  to  work  with  a  will,  soon  through,  and  then 
out  in  the  air,  romping  and  playing  with  the  other 
boys.  As  he  grew  older  he  took  up  gymnastics  and 
boxing,  and  by  his  indomitable  purpose  learned  to 
ride  a  horse  in  a  way  none  could  emulate,  and  to 
take  rough  knocks  and  give  them  with  equal  sturcli- 
ness  and  courage.  He  was  the  defender  of  those 
less  strong  than  he,  when  he  saw  them  abused,  and 
a  comrade  on  equal  terms  with  the  boys  of  equal 
strength.  He  had  conquered  sickness  and  was 
robust  and  healthy. 

Then  he  went  to  Harvard,  where  he  was  distin- 
guished as  a  clean-minded  scholar,  a  manly  young 
man  and  an  athlete.  The  taste  for  letters  that  was 
there  begun  and  the  ability  to  tell  the  truth  as  he 
saw  it,  and  to  see  all  that  was  going  on,  made  him 
an  editor  of  the  Harvard  Advocate.  He  graduated 
from  Harvard  in  1880,  not  at  the  head  of  his  cl. 
but  above  the  middle;  has  since  been  an  honor  to  his 
Alma  Mater,  and  became  early  one  of  the  heroes  of 
the  other  colleges,  where  the  students  and  t-vcn 
the  alumni  are  apt  to  be  late  in  appreciation  of  the 
fellows  from  other  institutions. 


560  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

Following  Ms  graduation  Theodore  Roosevelt 
spent  a  year  abroad.  Immediately  on  his  return 
home  he  entered  the  political  arena  of  the  metro- 
politan City  of  New  York.  He  might  have  sat  in 
any  one  of  the  clubs  to  which  he  was  eligible  and 
dawdled  away  the  hours.  He  did  not  neglect  the 
clubs,  but  was  popular  with  the  members  and  at  the 
same  time  was  a  man  with  a  purpose  and  an  honor- 
able ambition.  He  went  out  among  men,  shook 
hands,  and  at  times,  when  necessary,  exchanged 
blows  with  his  fellows,  so  that  while  he  was  still  a 
very  young  man  he  had  friends  and  admirers,  not 
only  at  the  club  but  numbered  among  those  he 
knew  and  liked — the  men  who  drove  trucks,  street 
cars,  omnibuses;  the  men  of  the  docks,  with 
shoulders,  perhaps,  broader  than  his,  the  fine  sun- 
bronzed  fellows  who  go  out  to  sea,  the  pilots  and 
tugmen,  the  men  of  the  shops  and  the  stores.  With 
them  he  learned  the  truth  that  "  A  man's  a  man  for 
a'  that."  He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of  his 
State,  and  it  was  not  long  before  his  opponents  in 
political  belief  knew  that  he  was  present.  Even  the 
men  of  his  own  party  who  did  not  agree  with  him, 
soon  realized  that  the  troublesome  "  whirlwind  of  a 
fellow"  was  absolutely  honest  of  purpose  and  as  a 
rule  in  the  right.  He  was  re-elected  in  the  following 
two  years.  He  was  for  honesty  in  politics  and  was 
the  first  to  introduce  a  Civil  Service  bill  in  the  Leg- 
islature, which  became  a  law  in  1883. 

Men  began  to  talk  about  Roosevelt,  and  those  who 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  561 

did  not  like  him  said  severe  things.  He  had  won 
his  spurs,  for  he  had  made  bitter  enemies  and  firm 
friends. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  an  independent  candidate 
for  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York  in  1886,  backed 
by  the  Republican  party.  He  had  as  an  opponent  a 
venerable  citizen  of  many  good  works,  and  his  youth 
told  against  him  with  the  voters.  He  suffered  his 
first  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  and  it 
was  an  honorable  repulse,  a  great  compliment  and 
mark  of  trust  on  the  part  of  the  people,  for  he  was 
given  a  surprisingly  big  vote.  Men  who  are  fond 
of  the  fellow  who  is  not  afraid  had  begun  to  see  in 
Roosevelt  a  leader,  a  man  of  firm  and  earnest  prin- 
ciple, the  sort  of  man  men  admire,  and  the  better  they 
knew  him  the  more  they  became  attached  to  him. 
Theodore  Roosevelt  was  more  than  the  politician 
staying  at  home  mending  broken  fences.  From  time 
to  time  in  the  days  of  his  official  vacations  he  visited 
the  Great  West,  where  he  had  a  ranch. 

One  of  the  Rough  Riders  who  went  up  San  Juan 
Hill  with  him  tells  a  story  on  the  candidate  worth 
repeating.  He  says :  "  When  I  was  about  sixteen, 
a  big  fellow  on  an  easy-going  horse  came  to  the  po^t- 
office  one  day,  and  asked  if  their  was  any  mail  for 
Roosevelt.  The  postmaster  was  my  father  and  he 
enjoyed  a  joke,  like  most  folks,  and  he  says  to  the 
big  man  wearing '  specks' :  '  Do  you  mean  The  Hon- 
orable Theodore  Roosevelt  from  New  York?' 
1  That's  the  man/  said  Teddy.  'Well,'  says  father, 


562  THEODOEE  ROOSEVELT. 

'such  a  distinguished  gentleman  should  bring  his 
credentials.'  'Here  they  are,'  says  Teddy,  not  put 
out  a  bit  and  pulling  a  handful  of  letters  from  his 
pocket.  'Thank  you,'  says  father,  ' there  is  some 
mail  for  you  here,  but  as  I  did  not  know  when  you 
would  come  I  put  it  away  in  a  safe  corner,  and  if 
you'll  wait  I'll  bring  it  out.'  Roosevelt  was  wiping 
off  his  glasses  and  father  goes  to  the  back  of  the 
store  and  makes  a  remark  to  a  friend  and  then  he 
began  sorting  out  the  tenderfoot's  mail,  handing  to 
him  a  letter  at  a  time.  When  Tie  was  through  a 
change  had  been  made  in  horses,  for  father  had  a 
dead  ringer  of  Teddy's  nag,  and  the  nastiest  beast 
thereabouts. 

"Well,  Teddy  thanked  father  and  went  up  to  his 
nag,  which  was  tied  to  a  post.  It  looked  just  as 
sleepy  as  a  sheep.  Teddy  takes  a  flying  leap  into 
the  saddle  and  the  boys  let  loose,  like  Indians. 
Then  the  beast  began  to  buck  and  as  it  did  not 
throw  the  big  fellow,  though  it  did  send  his  glasses 
flying,  it  went  through  every  trick  a  bad  broncho 
knows,  until  it  tried  to  roll  on  him,  but  the  man  was 
off  and  on  as  the  beast  rose,  and  then  Teddy  put  his 
spurs  deep  into  the  horse's  sides  and  away  they 
went.  Some  time  later  the  Honorable  Theodore 
Roosevelt  came  back  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  him  astride, 
and  it  stopped  with  a  snort,  or  rather  sigh  of 
relief,  at  the  front  of  the  store.  Then  we  christened 
him  'Teddy.'  We  brought  out  his  own  horse  and 
father  expressed  his  regret  that  the  new  neighbor — 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  503 

living  about  fifteen  miles  distant— had  lost  his 
glasses. 

"  'Don't  mind,'  says  Teddy,  <I  always  keep  plenty 
of  them  on  hand,'  and  he  pulls  a  new  pair  out  of  a 
pocket,  puts  them  on  his  nose  and  looks  us  over 
with  a  smile  showing  his  big  white  teeth.  We  took 
off  the  saddle  and  bridle  belonging  to  Teddy  from 
the  tired  horse  and  fitted  them  on  to  the  slow 
and  easy  nag.  He  smiled  again,  saw  that  there  had 
been  no  trickery  with  the  girth,  bade  us  good  morn- 
ing  and  rode  back  to  his  ranch.  After  that  when- 
ever  he  came  to  the  postoffice,  it  was  to  find  a  group 
of  friends,  just  as  he  has  ever  since  all  through  the 
West,  as  if  he  was  born  there.  The  boys  like 
Teddy." 

F.  C.  Brewer,  a  ranchman  of  the  Big  Horn  coun- 
try, has  an  equally  interesting  anecdote  of  the  Kough 
Rider's  experience  in  the  West.  He  says :  "  Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt,  of  New  York,  was  well  known  in 
the  West  lon^  before  his  Rou^h  Riders  were 

o  o 

thought  of. 

"It  was  in  1887  that  'Teddy'  Roosevelt  stopped 
for  a  few  days  at  my  ranch,  in  Big  Horn  Basin,  and 
I'll  bet  a  steer  against  a  coyote  he  has  never  for- 
gotten the  visit.  He  said  he  had  come  for  big  game, 
and  he  got  it. 

"A  day  or  two  after  his  arrival  we  made  up  a 
party  to  go  shooting.  Now,  Roosevelt  gave  it  out 
that  he  could  ride  a  bit,  and  so  he  could,  considering 
that  he  is  a  city  man.  The  boys  were  not  very  care- 


564  THEODOKE  ROOSEVELT. 

f  ul  to  find  Mm  a  gentle  horse,  probably  thinking  they 
would  have  fun  with  him  if  the  broncho  proved 
more  than  his  match. 

"  He  got  on  all  right  with  the  broncho  until  we 
ran  into  a  bunch  of  wild  cattle,  and  '  Teddy '  could 
not  resist  the  temptation  to  rope  one.  He  tried  to 
rope  it,  but  the  broncho  was  not  broke,  and  when  he 
threw  the  rope  the  horse  shied  and  threw  this  next 
Vice-President  of  ours. 

"The  rope  went  wild,  and  so  did  the  horse. 
Roosevelt  had  ridden  some  distance  from  us,  and 
before  we  could  come  up  one  of  the  cows  charged 
him.  We  expected,  of  course,  to  see  his  finish  right 
there. 

"  I  had  nay  gun  out  and  was  trying  to  get  a  shot 
at  the  cow,  when  Roosevelt  performed  the  most 
daring  act  of  his  life,  not  barring  his  charge  up  San 
Juan  Hill.  He  dodged  the  cow  when  she  charged, 
and  before  she  could  turn  he  made  a  leap  and  was 
on  her  back. 

"  Then  he  did  show  the  boys  that  he  could  ride. 
The  cow  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  the  per- 
formance, and,  after  a  pitch  or  two,  she  started  on  a 
dead  run  down  the  gulch,  through  the  chaparral,  and 
off  into  the  valley. 

"  '  Teddy '  stayed  with  her  until  she  was  tired  out 
and  we  had  overtaken  them.  One  of  the  boys  roped 
the  cow  and  he  bounded  off,  smiling  as  usual,  and 
the  only  comment  he  made  was  that  he  had  never 
enjoyed  a  ride  more." 


THEODORE   ROOSEVELT.  505 

There  are  innumerable  stories  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt's prowess  and  courage  in  the  Western  country, 
of  his  fighting  hand  to  hand  a  bear,  of  his  endurance 
of  privation  and  stout  heart  in  trying  moments,  of 
his  eagerness,  overcoming  fatigue  in  the  hunt  of  the 
mountain  sheep  and  all  these  make  him  dear  to  the 
Western  heart. 

There  is  nothing  more  characteristic  of  the  future 
Vice-President,  who  will  in  four  years  after  his  elec- 
tion be  elected  President,  than  a  remark  of  his  about 
killing  bears  and  other  animals  that  will  put  up  a. 
fight. 

"In  killing  dangerous  game  steadiness  is  more 
needed  than  good  shooting.  A  bear's  brain  is  about 
the  size  of  a  pint  bottle;  and  any  one  can  hit  a  pint 
bottle  off-handed  at  thirty  or  forty  feet.  I  have  had 
two  shots  at  bears  at  close  quarters,  and  each  time  I 
fired  into  the  brain,  the  bullet  in  one  case  striking 
fairly  between  the  eyes,  and  in  the  other  going  in 
between  the  eye  and  ear.  A  novice  at  this  kind  of 
sport  will  find  it  best  and  safest  to  keep  in  mind  the 
old  Norse  viking's  advice  in  reference  to  a  long 
sword:  'If  you  go  in  close  enough  your  s\vonl  will 
be  long  enough.'  If  a  poor  shot  goes  in  close  enough, 
he  will  find  that  he  shoots  straight  enough." 

That  he  did  not  lose  the  admiration  of  his  friend-* 
in  the  East,  but  that  they  appreciated  the  sterling 
qualities  of  the  man,  was  shown  when  the  co\vl> 
of  the  plains  and  the  young  men  of  fortune  of  the 
East  were  all  eager  to  serve  in  Roosevelt's  Rough 
Riders. 


566      .  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

President  Harrison  in  1889  appointed  Governor 
Roosevelt  a  member  of  the  National  Civil  Service 
Commission,  and  he  was  retained  upon  it  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  until  he  resigned,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  in  touch  with  the  other  members 
upon  the  larger  questions,  and  accepted  the  offer 
made  by  Mayor  Strong  of  a  place  upon  the  New 
York  City  Board  of  Police  Commission.  He  was 
speedily  chosen  president,  and  then  began  a  work 
that  made  him  only  less  famous  than  the  charge  up 
San  Juan  Hill.  He  was  a  terror  not  only  to  evil- 
doers but  to  the  police  themselves.  Under  his  rule 
the  department  was  brought  out  of  its  happy-go- 
lucky  methods  and  inefficiency  and  elevated  to  a 
height  that  had  never  before  been  reached,  and  has 
not  since  been  retained. 

Governor  Roosevelt  is  an  all-around  man.  He  is 
devoted  to  outdoor  sports,  but  he  is  also  a  scholar 
and  a  writer.  He  has  written  tales  of  adventure 
.and  also  history.  In  1892  he  published  a  "History 
of  the  Naval  War  of  1812."  It  was  this  work  that 
•as  said  to  have  influenced  Secretary  Long  to  appoint 
Mr.  Roosevelt  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
which  place  he  accepted  in  1897.  In  this  position  he 
insisted  on  making  preparations  for  the  war  cloud 
that  was  then  hanging  over  us. 

'There  was  too  much  fighting  blood  in  Roosevelt's 
veins  for  him  to  occupy  a  position  remote  from  the 
front  when  a  war  was  on,  so,  despite  protests  of 
friends,  he  resigned  the  Assistant  Secretaryship  of 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  5G7 

the  Navy  and  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  in 
the  First  United  States  Cavalry,  more  popular!  v 
known  as  the  Rough  Riders.  Roosevelt's  own  per- 
sonality brought  recruits  to  the  regiment  from  every 
corner  of  the  country,  and  men  they  were  after  his 
own  heart — ready  for  any  deed  of  bravery. 

Roosevelt  could  have  been  Colonel  of  the  regi- 
ment, but  insisted  that  his  friend  and  comrade  to-dav, 
Major-General  Wood,  a  graduate  of  West  Point, 
should  be  the  leader  and  himself  took  second  in 
command.  The  two  worked  in  absolute  harmony 
and  formed  of  their  recruits  an  ideal  fighting  regi- 
ment. The  young  men  from  the  East,  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  lives  of  ease  and  elegance,  but  as  ath- 
letes had  good  and  well  trained  muscles,  took  readily 
to  their  work  and  labored  for  all  that  was  in  them. 
The  men  from  the  plains,  accustomed  to  be  a  law 
unto  themselves,  were  soon  broken  into  the  idea  of 
discipline  and  the  propriety  and  necessity  for  it. 
There  were  long  weeks  of  training  and  drilling,  and 
when  the  time  came  for  sending  the  troops  t<>  San- 
tiago the  men  of  the  Rough  Riders  were  seasoned  and 
fit.  The  story  of  their  fighting  is  one  of  the  bright 
pages  in  our  history  of  valor  and  dash.  Cavalry 
predestined  for  infantry  work  did  it  well. 

The  first  man  to  die  on  the  American  side  in  the 
war  with  Spain  was  a  Rough  Rider,  the  son  of  one 
of  New  York's  oldest  and  most  influential  families^ 
an  athlete  at  college  and  a  soldier  in  the  fu-M — 
Hamilton  Fish.  It  was  in  the  battle  of  Las  Qu 


568  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

mas,  just  as  the  Americans  were  deploying,  having 
discovered  the  enemy,  that  he  fell  pierced  through 
the  heart  and  a  minute  later  Captain  Capron  met 
the  same  fate.  From  the  rank  and  file  there  came 
exclamations  which  would  not  look  well  in  print,  but 
are  said  to  be  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  battle, 
and  then  there  was  the  order  from  the  commander  to 
quit  swearing  and  "shoot,"  so  well  obeyed  that  two 
thousand  Spaniards  were  routed  by  half  their 
number. 

Roosevelt  succeeded  Colonel  Wood  in  command 
of  the  First  Volunteer  U.  S.  Cavalry  and  especially 
distinguished  himself  in  the  fighting  about  Santiago, 
winning  the  undying  love  of  his  soldiers  and  the 
esteem  of  his  countrymen.  He  was  especially  con- 
spicuous in  the  charge  up  San  Juan  Hill.  The 
Spaniards  were  strongly  intrenched  there  and  had 
with  them  the  larger  part  of  the  sharp-shooters  of 
their  army.  It  was  desperate  and  dangerous  work  to 
climb  the  long  steep  slope,  facing  the  rain  of  Mauser 
bullets.  Foreign  military  men,  accompanying  our 
army,  as  they  saw  the  American  troops  swarming  up 
the  hill,  agreed  that  it  could  not  be  done  and  that  it 
was  murder  to  send  men  on  such  an  errand,  especially 
as  they  were  not  protected  by  heavy-firing  infantry. 
They  did  not  know  our  troops  and  their  officers. 
Up  the  hill  Regulars,  Rough  Riders  and  other  Vol- 
unteers charged  and  at  the  head  of  the  Rough 
Riders  was  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt  on  horse- 
back, the  most  conspicuous  of  the  many  marks  the 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  5G9 

sharp-shooters  could  see.  His  horse  was  shot 
under  him.  He  and  his  men  with  the  other  troops 
drove  the  Spaniards  from  their  stronghold,  and  the 
Colonel  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
laid  low  one  Spaniard,  something  few  officers  have 
ever  done  in  modern  warfare.  Koosevelt  was  lead- 
ing his  troops.  There  could  be  no  possible  strategy 
necessitating  his  presence  in  the  rear.  There  was  a 
charge  to  be  made  and  Roosevelt  lead  it. 

Then  there  were  the  long  days  culminating  in  the 
surrender  of  the  Spaniards,  the  appearance  of  yellow 
and  intermittent  fevers,  dysentery  and  diseases  that 
waste  and  destroy  more  than  the  enemies'  bullets. 
Then  followed  the  Colonel's  famous  su£orestion  to 

oo 

the  War  Department  that  the  boys  be  sent  home, 
for  their  work  was  complete  and  they  were  dying 
for  want  of  the  air  and  water  of  the  temperate 
zone.  This  thoughtful  ness  of  his  men  and  far-sight- 
edness was  a  little  bit  unmilitary,  but  characteristic 
of  Koosevelt,  who  is  not  an  ardent  admirer  of  red 
tape,  although  he  proved  a  disciplinarian  and  him- 
self amenable  to  discipline  before  and  during  the 
fighting  days. 

Roosevelt  and  his  Rou^h  Riders,  with  the  other 

O  ' 

troops,  were  sent  to  Montauk,  L.  L,  to  recuperate  in 
a  land  of  cool  ocean  breezes,  where  the  sound  of  the 
surf  lulled  to  sleep  men  weary  with  fever  and  the 
salt  waters  invigorated  those  who  were  convalescing, 
a  place  in  the  Shinnecock  hills,  neighboring  the  >]>lrn- 
did  summer  homes  of  the  rich  men  of  the  East 


570  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

Uncle  Sam  gave  to  his  brave  boys  a  long  vacation 
with  pay  at  the  seashore,  and  they  grew  strong  and 
prepared  for  the  duties  of  peace  at  home.  There 
the  Rough  Riders  were  honorably  discharged. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  the  only  possible  candidate 
for  the  Governorship  of  the  Empire  State,  for  the 
people  wanted  him,  just  as  in  Philadelphia  the 
people,  as  represented  by  their  delegates,  insisted 
that  they  must  have,  and  did  get,  "Teddy."  As 
Governor  of  New  York  Colonel  Roosevelt  proved 
himself  the  same  active,  honest  man,  hated  by 
thieves  and  their  kind,  but  loved  by  those  he  served 
— the  people.  He  recognized  himself  their  servant 
and  was  proud  of  the  high  office. 

Governor  Roosevelt  has  been  a  hard  student  ever 
since  he  left  college,  and  numerous  interesting  and 
valuable  volumes  come  from  his  pen.  Among  the 
number  are  "The  Naval  War  of  1812";  "Hunting 
Trips  of  a  Ranchman,"  and  two  volumes  of  a  similar 
character;  two  volumes  of  biography,  having  Thomas 
H.  Benton  and  Gouverneur  Morris  for  their  subjects ; 
"  History  of  the  City  of  New  York ";  two  volumes 
on  political  topics,  and  a  four-volume  history  entitled 
"  The  Wild  West,"  his  most  important  literary  work. 
His  experience  in  the  Santiago  campaign  has  also 
been  detailed  in  graphic  style  in  "The  Rough  Riders," 
published  last  year. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  has  been  married  twice.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  Alice  Lee,  of  Boston ;  the  second 
Miss  Edith  Carow,  of  New  York.  He  is  the  father 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  571 

of  six  children,  ranging  from  16  to  3  years  of  age, 
His  domestic  life  is  ideal  Whether  ensconced  in 
winter  quarters  at  Albany  or  New  York,  or  at  the 
famous  Roosevelt  summer  home  at  Oyster  Bay  on 
Long  Island,  the  leader  of  the  Rough  Riders  is  an 
indulgent  father  and  romps  with  his  children  with 
as  much  zest  as  the  youngest  of  them.  The  young- 
sters are  known  as  the  Roosevelt  half-dozen,  and  all 
reflect  in  some  manner  the  paternal  characteristics. 
The  oldest  girl  is  Alice,  tall,  dark  and  serious  look- 
ing. She  rides  her  father's  Cuban  campaign  horse 
with  fearlessness  and  grace.  The  next  olive  branch 
is  Theodore,  Jr.,  or  "  Young  Teddy,"  the  idol  of  his 
father's  heart  and  a  genuine  chip  of  the  old  block. 
Young  "  Teddy  "  owns  a  trusty  shotgun  and  dreams 
of  some  day  shooting  bigger  game  than  his  father 
ever  did.  He  also  rides  a  pony  of  his  own.  Alice, 
the  oldest  girl,  is  nearly  16.  She  is  the  only  child 
by  the  first  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  "Young  Teddy,"  the 
present  Mrs.  Roosevelt's  oldest  child,  is  13.  Then 
there  are  Kermit,  11;  Ethel,  9;  Archibald,  0,  and 
Quentin,  of  the  tender  age  of  3. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT— CONTINUED. 

Succeeds  to  the  Presidency  on  the  Assassination  of  President  McKin- 
ley — Adopts  Policy  of  his  Predecessor — Pronounces  for  Purity 
in  Politics. 

BY  A.  J.  MUNSON. 

GOVERNOR  ROOSEVELT  was  nominated 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  against  his  wishes. 
He  did  not  decline  to  be  a  candidate  be- 
cause he  considered  the  position  trivial  or  un- 
worthy, but  because  he  believed  he  could  render 
the  party  and  the  country  better  service  as  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York.  When  his  wishes  were  disre- 
garded and  the  nomination  thrust  upon  him,  he 
accepted  it  gracefully  and  in  terms  that  were  a 
guarantee  that  he  would  bring^  to  the  position 
that  earnestness  of  purpose  that  had  characterized 
all  his  public  work.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance 
he  said: 

"The  people  are  now  to  decide  whether  they 
shall  go  forward  along  the  path  of  prosperity  at 
home  and  high  honor  abroad,  or  whether  they 
will  turn  their  backs  upon  what  has  been  done 
during  the  past  three  years;  whether  they  will 

572 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  573 

plunge  their  country  into  an  abyss  of  misery  and 
disaster — or  what  is  even  worse  than  misery  and 
disaster — of  shame.  I  feel  that  we  have  a  right 
to  appeal,  not  merely  to  Republicans,  but  to  all 
good  citizens,  no  matter  what  may  have  been 
their  party  affiliations  in  the  past,  and  ask  them 
on  the  strength  of  the  record  that  under  Presi- 
dent McKinley  has  been  made  during  the  past 
three  years,  and  on  the  strength  of  the  threat  im- 
pliedjn  what  was  done  at  Kansas  City  a  few  days 
ago,  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  in  per- 
petuating the  conditions  under  which  we  have 
reached  at  home  a  degree  of  prosperity  never  be- 
fore attained  in  the  history  of  the  nation,  and 
under  which  abroad  we  have  put  the  American 
flag  on  a  level  where  it  never  before  in  the  history 
of  the  country  has  been  placed." 

Roosevelt  engaged  in  the  campaign  with  his 
usual  force  and  vigor  and  contributed  in  no  un- 
certain degree  to  the  success  of  the  party.  His 
campaigning  tours  extended  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  country  and  were  marked  everywhere  by 
popular  enthusiasm.  He  spoke  in  definite  terms, 
firing  his  oratorical  broadsides  with  a  boldness 
and  directness  of  aim  that  carried  conviction. 
Early  in  the  campaign  numerous  bands  of  "Rough 
Riders"  were  organized  throughout  the  country 
in  honor  of  Roosevelt's  services  in  the  war.  Men 
from  all  ranks  of  life  joined  these  bands  that  were 
conspicuous  in  the  many  political  rallies. 


574  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

His  brief  incumbency  of  the  Vice-Presidency 
was  uneventful.    He  presided  over  the   Senate 
during  the  winter  session,  where  by  his  dignified  f 
and  courteous  treatment  of  the  Senators  he  gained* 
their  friendship  and  esteem. 

When  the  session  ended  Vice-President  Roose- 
velt went  on  a  vacation  to  Colorado  to  hunt  the 
cougar.  A  month  was  spent  in  this  way,  a  month 
of  peril,  hardship  and  exposure,  during  which  Mr. 
Roosevelt  personally  killed  fourteen  of  these 
dangerous  animals.  The  skulls  of  these  he  sent  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington,  that 
they  might  add  to  the  scientific  data  of  this  dis- 
tinctly American  animal. 

Returning  from  the  hunt  he  enjoyed  a  short 
summer  of  rest,  the  first  in  many  years,  from 
which  he  was  called  in  the  hour  of  national  sor- 
row to  the  highest  position  in  the  nation. 

The  day  President  McKinley  was  shot  Mr^ 
Roosevelt  was  at  Isle  La  Motte,  Vermont,  where 
he  delivered  an  address.  He  had  just  finished 
speaking  when  he  was  informed  of  the  tragedy. 
The  news  unnerved  him  and  he  would  have  fallen 
but  for  timely  support.  When  asked  to  speak  he 
said:  "I  am  so  inexpressibly  grieved  and  shocked 
and  horrified  that  I  can  say  nothing." 

Mr.  Roosevelt  hastened  to  the  side  of  the 
wounded  President,  where  he  remained  until  the 
physicians  thought  the  President  out  of  danger. 


THEODORE  BOOSEVELT.  575 

On  this  assurance  he  went" to  the  Adirondacks  to 
rest.  Here  a  little  after  sundown  on  the  day  the 
President  died  a  guide  found  him  and  brought 
him  the  sad  news.  Mr.  Roosevelt  started  at  once 
for  Buffalo.  At  Albany  he  was  met  by  Secretary 
of  State  Hay  who  officially  informed  him  of  the 
death  of  the  President.  He  reached  Buffalo  the 
next  day,  where,  in  the  library  of  the  Wilcox 
home,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  of  President; 
Judge  Hazel  administering  the  oath.  After  sign- 
ing the  parchment  he  said  to  those  present  and 
through  them  to  the  nation: 

"In  this  hour  of  deep  and  terrible  bereavement, 
I  wish  to  state  that  it  shall  by  my  aim  to  continue 
absolutely  unbroken  the  policy  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  and  honor  of 
our  beloved  country. " 

He  then  extended  an  earnest  invitation  to  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  to  continue  in  office  that 
the  pledges  he  had  made  might  the  more  effective- 
ly be  fulfilled.  After  a  brief  consultation  among 
themselves  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  assured 
him  they  would  remain  in  office. 

President  Roosevelt's  action  in  adopting  the 
policy  of  the  dead  President  and  retaining  the 
Cabinet  officers,  met  with  the  hearty  approval  of 
the  people.  The  wisdom  of  the  act  was  mani- 
fested in  the  fact  that  the  sudden  change  of  Ex- 


57G  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

ecutives  created  no  confusion  in  the  financial  and 
commercial  markets.  The  people  had  absolute 
confidence  in  their  new  President. 

Among  the  first  things  that  President  Roosevelt 
did  was  to  administer  a  light  snub  to  the  spoils 
politicians.  He  told  them  that  if  they  wanted 
him  to  appoint  their  men  to  federal  offices  they 
must  bring  men  to  him  who  have  not  only  the 
ability  required  for  the  positions  they  seek,  but 
-whose  records  as  men  are  clean.  Party  affiliation 
was  not  to  be  enough.  If  good  men  could  not  be 
found  in  the  Republican  party,  he  should  not 
hesitate  to  seek  them  in  the  Democratic  party. 
Acting  on  this  declaration  he  appointed  an  Ala- 
bama Democrat  to  a  district  judgeship.  He 
called  Booker  T.  Washington  to  the  White  House 
that  he  might  consult  him  about  the  political  con- 
ditions in  the  South,  especially  as  these  conditions 
affect  the  negro  race,  and  is  reported  to  have  said 
to  him: 

"If  I  cannot  make  the  Republican  party  in  the 
South  the  dominant  party,  I  can  at  least  make  it 
respectable.  I  can  appoint  good  men  to  office, 
even  though  I  have  to  select  Democrats." 

President  Roosevelt  carried  the  same  energy  and 
industry  into  his  work  as  the  Chief  Executive  as 
he  had  manifested  in  all  the  positions  he  had  held. 
He  went  to  his  desk  at  9 :30  in  the  morning  and 
remained  there  until  4:30  in  the  afternoon,  with 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT.  577 

but  an  intermission  of  an  hour  at  noon.  During 
this  time  any  honest  citizen  had  access  to  him.  A 
correspondent  described  his  activities  during  his 
first  few  days  as  President,  and  before  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  White  House,  as  follows: 

*  'President  Roosevelt  is  out  of  bed  by  7  o'clock 
and  as  a  rule  is  at  the  breakfast  table  shortly 
after  8  o'clock.  He  leaves  for  the  White  House 
as  soon  as  breakfast  is  over.  Once  he  is  in  his 
big  working  room  things  begin  to  buzz.  Mr. 
Wm.  Loeb,  who  is  in  reality  his  secretary,  his 
stenographer,  and  his  confidential  friend,  hands 
him  the  letters  necessary  for  him  to  see.  These 
he  reads,  dictates  replies  and  sees  visitors  at  the 
same  time." 

Theodore  Roosevelt  was  the  youngest  man  to 
be  called  to  the  great  office  of  President,  but  to 
that  office  he  brought  the  studious  thought,  the 
ripe  scholarship,  the  practical  experience,  the  keen 
insight  into  human  nature  and  the  wide  acquaint- 
ance with  men  in  public  and  private  life,  that  would 
well  become  one  much  older  than  he.  Add  to 
these  qualities  his  abhorrence  of  wrong  in  public 
life,  his  virile  stand  for  right  and  his  quiet  Christ- 
ian faith,  and  the  people  find  in  him  a  man  who 
is  not  only  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
office,  but  on  whom  they  are  confident  the  high 
honor  has  fallen  to  be  glorified  in  good  deeds. 


